Summary
Six of the 12 classes inBaldur’s Gate 3start out with the ability to cast spells. They each choose several options from a list of spells curated for them. Butwhile spellcasting is incredibly powerful, some of these early options are much better than others. Especially at level one, when players have so few spell slots and can only choose a couple of options for what to cast, choosing correctly is important.
Some of the first-level spells that classes gain access to are great, versatile, and useful throughout the entire game.Others are either so niche that they never come up, or simply weaker than another option up for grabs. While each class does have its own list of available spells, there is still some overlap in the options they have available. And in some cases, a spell that is good for one class is terrible for another.
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Find Familiar Information
Description
Gain the service of a familiar, a fey spirit that takes an animal form of your choosing:
18m/59ft
Ritual Spell
Yes
The wizard is the quintessential spellcaster inBaldur’s Gate 3.All of their abilities are focused around their spellcasting, including the ability to learn new spells from scrolls. As such, this choice is a little less important for them than other classes, since they can eventually learn every level one spell on their list if they wish. Still, there is a clear choice for one spell that every wizard should learn at level one, and that isfind familiar. This spell summons a small animal, like a cat or raven, to assist the player and participate in combat.
It is exclusive to the wizard list, and is rarely found on scrolls, meaning that wizards have the best chance of gettingfind familiarby just taking it at level one. This spell has several things going for it: it’s a ritual spell, meaning itdoesn’t cost a spell slotwhen cast outside combat, it lasts until a long rest, doesn’t require concentration, and it is always useful to have more allies on the field. Familiars benefit from spells likeaidandlongstriderwhich buff the party, andtheir tiny size makes them useful for exploration outside of combat.
Witch Bolt Information
Link yourself to a target with a bolt of lightning. Deal an additional 1~12 Lightning damage each turn by activating it using your Action.
None
At Higher Levels
When you cast this spell using a spell slot of 2nd level or higher, the initial damage (first turn only) increases by 1d12 for each slot level above 1st.
Choosing the worst wizard spell is harder, given how many they have access to, but the spot will have to go towitch bolt.It allows wizards to concentrate on a beam of lightning between themselves and an enemy, dealing lightning damage each turn. This may sound good, especially given how useful lightning damage can be, but this spell is a trap.
Firstly,witch bolttakes up a wizard’s concentration, meaningthey can’t use it at the same time as more powerful spellslikefog cloudorcloud of daggers. More importantly, it requires an action each turn to activate. Given how low its damage is, just 1d12, this will hardly ever outpace the damage a wizard can do by just using other spells and cantrips, especially once the party gets to higher levels. All in all,witch boltis a spell that sounds better than it is and is almost immediately rendered useless in comparison to other options available.
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Hex Information
Make your attacks deal an additional 1~6 Necrotic damage to the target and give it Disadvantage on an Ability of your choosing. If the target dies before the spell ends, you can Hex a new creature without expending a spell slot.
Saving Throw
At the opposite end of the spellcasting spectrum, warlocks get hardly any spell slots and learn only one spell at first level. As such, their choice is incredibly important to determining their early performance.Luckily, it is hard to go wrong with warlock spells at level one, since most of them are excellent. The best option at this level ishex.
Hexis a concentration spell, which works against it, but warlocks don’t have a ton of concentration options to compete with it in the early levels. Plus, it lends a very helpful boost to damage: 1d6 extra Necrotic damage against a target from each of a warlock’s attacks.This works famously witheldritch blast, another warlock exclusive, making this class a standout damage dealer in the early game.
Hexonly works with attacks that use Attack Rolls, eg.Eldritch Blast, but notMagic MissileorFireball.
Hexdoes have another part to it, giving a creature disadvantage on a given type of ability check, but this will rarely come up.The necrotic damage alone makes this spell great, though, even if it drops off at higher levels of play. That’s whereBaldur’s Gate 3’sability to switch out spells comes in handy; once a warlock gets past sixth level or so, they can trade outhexfor a better concentration spell. This way, they benefit from its power in Act One without being stuck with it the whole game.
Charm Person Information
Charm a humanoid to prevent it from attacking you. You gain Advantage on Charisma Checks in dialogue. Enemies have Advantage on Saving Throws against being Charmed.
Wisdom
The choice for worst warlock spell at level one is easy:charm person.Charm personis one of the spells that suffered the most power-wise in thetransition fromDungeons & DragontoBG3,losing its longer duration and some of its effects.
It has no use inBaldur’s Gateoutside of dialogue, and unfortunately,there is a cantrip which does the exact same thingas it without using a spell slot. Warlocks gain access to this cantrip,friends, at level one as well, meaning there is literally no benefit to takingcharm person.
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Shield Information
When you are about to be hit by an enemy, increase your Armour Class by 5. You take no damage from Magic Missile.
Sorcerers are similar to wizards in how much they are focused on their spellcasting, though they don’t get that many spells in comparison. Instead, they can use Metamagic to enhance the spells they have, and Sorcery Points to cast more spells. They don’t get either of those abilities at level one, though, meaning they are a bit under-powered at the very start of the game. Thus,they need spells to help keep them alive, andshieldis just the spell for the job.
Shieldis an obvious choice for any spellcaster that can take it, to the point that a character is inherently less powerful if they don’t have it. It does what the name implies, protecting players from damage, and it is good at its job.Sorcerers who grabshieldearly on will have a use for it throughout the entire game as a reaction to avoid damage, and it only gets better as they gain more spell slots. It might not be the most exciting option, but it is definitely the most useful.
5m/17ft
Additional Details
Affects a 5m/17ft cone area.
Sorcerers also gain access tocharm personandfriends, making it tempting to includecharm personas their worst option as well.But another spell available to sorcerers might actually be worse, and that iscolour spray. This spell is not only underwhelming, but also a bit misleading.
Colour spraysays that it can temporarily blind groups of enemies, which sounds useful. Butthat blindness only lasts for one turn, and won’t even take effect against enemies with enough hit points. It is a rare case where giving a spell a saving throw component would probably make it better, but this spell only functions on low health enemies that players would probably be better off just taking attacks against.
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Gain the ability to comprehend and communicate with beasts.
Druid spells may not be as combat focused as those of sorcerers and wizards, but in Act One,they have some truly fantastic options for exploration and utility. The Emerald Grove near where the players start the game is a druid enclave, after all, so it’s no surprise that druidic magic would be useful there. The most practical of their level-one spells isspeak with animals, an unassuming spell that opens up whole new parts of the game.
Speak with animalsallows druids to do exactly that, communicating with beasts in the world around them. This can provide useful information, lead to comedic conversations, and even open up avenues for new quests.So much content inBaldur’s Gate 3is available by talking to animalsthat it seems almost necessary to have a party member with this spell. What makes it even better is that it is a ritual spell, meaning it won’t even take a spell slot to cast.
The worst spell available to druids is one that sounds similar but is in fact much less useful:animal friendship. Theoretically, this spell allows players to calm and even ally with dangerous beasts in the wild. The issue with the spell in practice is thatthere aren’t that many hostile beasts in the game, much less those that would actually be helpful in combat.
Furthermore, the game often allows the player to usespeak with animalsto similar effect,giving them the ability to make dialogue checks to work with certain animals. Thus,animal friendshipis both a less interesting and less effective version of the previous spell.
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Sanctuary Information
You or an ally cannot be targeted until you attack or harm a creature.you may still take damage from area spells. Until the affected entity attacks or harms another creature, it cannot be targeted by enemy attacks. However, it can still take damage from spells that influence a large area.
Across all six spell levels,clerics have the most powerful options, and it isn’t even close. From fast healing options like mass healing word to high damage powerhouses likespirit guardians, every cleric can have some amazing options prepped at all times.This extends to their level-one options, and of those, the best issanctuary.
Sanctuarydoesn’t deal any damage or provide any healing, butit is far and away the most effective protection spell in the game, andmakesBG3’s final battle very easy. For the low cost of a bonus action, clerics can cast this on themselves or an ally to make it impossible for enemies to target them with attacks. There isn’t a save for this, and it doesn’t even require concentration.
Banishment
Glyph of Warding
This may sound niche at first, and players may only think of using it to protect downed allies. Butsanctuarybecomes excellent when combined with a powerful concentration spell. Enemies will often target a spellcaster concentrating on a powerful damage spell, likecloudkillorspirit guardians,hoping to make them drop concentration. But withsanctuary, that caster is entirely safe and free to spend their turns concentrating. As long as they don’t directly attack another creature,sanctuarywill remain functional.
Bane Information
Up to 3 creatures receive a -1d4 penalty to Attack Rolls and Saving Throws.
9m/30ft
10 turns
Charisma
Picking the worst level one cleric spell is hard because players can’t really go wrong with any of their options. The worst choice they have available to them,bane, is only bad in comparison to other choices.
It can be an effective debuff on groups of enemies, but the fact that it requires a saving throw means it may not always work. Spells likesanctuary,healing word, andblesswill always do exactly what they are supposed to do, making them more reliable options.
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