Player freedom in builds is the foundation of the gameplay in Baldur's Gate 3. Gamers can spend their campaign casting spells from a distance, getting into position for backstabs, or charging against a horde of enemies. Different classes and subclasses encourage different styles and ideas.
This creativity is welcome but it might leave those new to the genre a bit overwhelmed. Any race can be great at any class in Baldur's Gate 3, especially for creative gamers. However, there are a few races that stick out as natural in each class, making it at least worthy of a recommendation.
Barbarian
- Berserker - Asmodeus Tiefling
- Wildheart - Half-Orc
- Wild Magic - Gold Dwarf
The Berserker Barbarian benefits from thrown objects and the Asmodeus Tiefling has one as a cantrip. The Half-Orc is a generally great pick for Barbarians and fits well with the Wildheart that excels in various general circumstances. The Wild Magic Barbarian activates random spells and works so long as the character is alive; in this case, the toughest from the Gold Dwarf is ideal. All these races can be part of the best Barbarian class build.
Bard
- College of Lore - Rock Gnome
- College of Valor - Githyanki
- College of Swords - Wood Elf
Bards in the College of Lore are designed to be knowledgeable in addition to charming so the doubled History proficiency from the Rock Gnome works well. Githyanki make for fantastic College of Valor Bards since they can use their Astral Knowledge to remain great at Charisma despite being a martial-focused class. Similarly, the College of Swords encourages fighting but doesn't give the character access to longswords and longbows, two of the best weapons, and a Wood Elf can fix that problem. When making the best Bard build, these races should at least be up for consideration.
Cleric
- Life Domain - High Elf
- Light Domain - High Elf
- Trickery Domain - High Elf
- Knowledge Domain - High Elf
- Nature Domain - High Elf
- Tempest Domain - Gold Dwarf
- War Domain - Strongheart Halfling
The best Cleric builds vary greatly since this is a support class that can easily become a blaster, striker, tank, or even the face of the party. the High Elf is a popular choice because Clerics will get access to longswords and longbows. The extra cantrip is extremely helpful as well.
The Tempest and War Domains get access to martial weapons so there is more room for freedom in those subclasses. The Tempest Domain's feature only triggers when hit, so a tanky race like the Gold Dwarf is perfect. The Strongheart Halfling rerolls unwelcome attacks and damage numbers which will trigger most often with the extra attacks from the War Domain.
Druid
- Circle of the Moon - Gold Dwarf
- Circle of the Land - High Elf
- Circle of Spores - High Elf
The Circle of Land and Spores are both caster-style druids with a mix of allowable weapons. The High Elf expands the weapons that can be used and adds a cantrip for the class to take advantage of. The Gold Dwarf is often thought of when making the best Druid build and trying to tank. Druids take on the Strength, Dexterity, and Constitution of the beasts they turn into so a Circle of the Moon Druid can't benefit from much except for the Gold Dwarf's extra health.
Fighter
- Battle Master - Strongheart Halfling
- Eldritch Knight - Strongheart Halfling
- Champion - Half-Orc
Fighters eventually get three weapon attacks per round naturally and they are the only class to get this benefit. The best Fighter build will take advantage of this with either the Half-Orc or the Halfling which have inherent affinities for rolling often.
Monk
- Way of the Open Hand - Lightfoot Halfling
- Way of Shadow - Lightfoot Halfling
- Way of the Four Elements - Dragonborn
The Lightfoot Halfling allows rerolls on any 1s that come up on damage die. Since the Monk uses four-sided dice, it benefits more than any other class from this advantage and the best Monk build often uses this particular race. This makes the Lightfoot Halfling a simple choice for the Way of the Open Hand and its unarmed attacks and also the Way of Shadow since the race gets an advantage on Stealth checks.
Things are slightly different for the Way of the Four Elements which capitalizes on using elemental damage that opponents are weak against; the Dragonborn's breath weapon complements this well and gives the Monk and area attack for groups of enemies.
Paladin
- Oath of Devotion - Forest Gnome
- Oath of the Ancients - Duergar Dwarf
- Oath of Vengeance - Forest Gnome
- Oathbreaker - Half-Orc
With proficiency in all weapons, armors, and shields, the best Paladin build doesn't have to rely upon races that fill in such gaps. Darkvision is a pretty big deal, even for melee Paladins. Forest Gnomes can Speak with Animals, allowing them to be the face of the party for Oath of Devotion and Oath of Vengeance Paladins. Oath of the Ancients already get this benefit at level three, so increase the darkvision range with a Duergar Dwarf.
The Oathbreaker is a special case and it gets to roll with advantage more often. That kind of benefit plays right into the hands of a Half-Orc who will be rolling more critical strikes due to the debuff this subclass applies.
Ranger
- Beast Master - Drow
- Hunter - Deep Gnome
- Gloom Stalker - Wood Elf or Wood Half-Elf
There is a debate about the best Ranger build because each one is so unique. Superior Darkvision is critical for all ranged classes; Light spells help but they take concentration, actions, and spells slots. The Beast Master's animal companion makes Stealth slightly less necessary so the Drow is a good fit. The Deep Gnome is the perfect fit for the Hunter as the race gains advantage on all Stealth checks.
Gloom Stalkers get superior darkvision as part of the class. More importantly, they get extra movement speed. The Wood Elf and Wood Half-Elf both tie for the maximum movement speed. Combined with the perks of this subclass, they're perfect for Rangers that want to test out melee combat.
Rogue
- Thief - Shield Dwarf
- Arcane Trickster - Deep Gnome
- Assassin - Woof Elf
The biggest thing hindering the Rogue is a limited weapon selection and a reliance on light armor. The best Rogue build for melee attackers need to give the class medium armor and darkvision. Ranged attacks will need a better weapon selection and at least darkvision.
It may sound unorthodox, but the Shield Dwarf gets the medium armor proficiency bonus and darkvision, the only race in the game with both, so they're the go-to for any melee builds. Unfortunately, no race with superior darkvision has an upgrade for the Rogue's current proficiencies, so settle for regular darkvision and the Wood Elf longbow boost.
The Arcane Trickster should be regarded as a pure caster as soon as the class hits level 9 since all spells make creatures roll with disadvantage so long as the character is hidden. The Deep Gnome has advantage on Stealth checks and superior darkvision, so it is the best Arcane Trickster.
Sorcerer
- Draconic Bloodline - Gold Dwarf
- Wild Magic - Githyanki
- Storm Sorcery - Githyanki
Although Dungeons and Dragons has mostly ranged specializations for the Sorcerer, the best builds for the Sorcerer all involve being up close to the enemy due to the three subclasses offered. Githyanki get access to medium armor proficiencies and the Astral Knowledge ability makes them incredible faces for any part. Draconic Bloodline doesn't reward armor but still leans into extra health and AC, so the Gold Dwarf is the best fit here.
Warlock
- The Fiend - Githyanki
- Great Old One - Lightfoot Halfling
- Archfey - Githyanki
Like the Sorcerer, the Warlock has two subclasses that need to be close to enemies to capitalize on them. Githyanki, therefore, are another good solution for the medium armor proficiency, getting the nod over the Shield Dwarf because of the Astral Knowledge ability. The Great Old One rewards critical hits and the Halfling gets slightly more of these than other classes, so the best Warlock build for this subclass should embrace the Lucky trait.
Wizard
- Abjuration School - Githyanki
- Conjuration School - Githyanki
- Divination School - Githyanki
- Enchantment School - Githyanki
- Evocation School - Githyanki
- Necromancy School - Githyanki
- Illusion School - Deep Gnome
- Transmutation School - Githyanki
As is a theme of classes with no substantial armor, the Githyanki help out a great deal. The best Wizard build should consider a Githyanki because this normally easy-to-kill class becomes much harder to hit. The one exception is the Illusion School because it has a defensive feature built-in and rewards Stealth checks, so the Deep Gnome is an ace in that particular regard.
Baldur's Gate 3 is available now for PC. The PlayStation 5 version will be available on September 6th, 2023. A version for Xbox Series X/S is still in development.