Highlights
- Clerics in Baldur's Gate 3 are versatile, capable of being healers, fighters, or stealth units, and their chosen deity affects their motivations and how other characters respond to them.
- Players can choose from various subclasses for their Cleric, such as Light, Life, or Trickery, each offering different play styles and abilities.
- Clerics in Baldur's Gate 3 have access to powerful spells, making them valuable on the field, and their roleplaying potential is enhanced by the impact of their choice of deity to worship.
Healing is notoriously the least popular role in party-based RPGs, but it's the most essential since it keeps the party going through the most dire of circumstances. This important role is not as flashy as the others, but offers great opportunities for role-playing and storytelling, as it usually falls onto the Cleric class, which is one of the staple classes of Dungeons and Dragons, as well as Baldur's Gate 3. Clerics are a surprisingly versatile class in Baldur's Gate 3; blessed by their chosen deity, they have both magic and fighting abilities available to them. Their role of supporting the party and debuffing enemies is one of the most important, and their devotion to one of the many deities creates interesting roleplaying opportunities.
Clerics are some of the best healers in Baldur's Gate 3 and, unlike most other spellcasters, are adaptable enough to work as tanks, fighters, or even stealth units. Clerics must choose a deity to worship upon creation; there are over 20 gods in Baldur's Gate 3, and choosing one will inform the player character's motivations, background, and intentions. Clerics receive their magic and abilities through training with the various sects who worship these gods, or from the actual deity. The choice of deity to follow also informs how other characters respond to the player character, and some deities have more nebulous reputations than others.
Clerics Are Powerhouse Spellcasters and Fighters
In addition to picking a deity to worship, Clerics also need to choose a DnD-style subclass during character creation, which informs the play style of the Cleric and what spells will be available to them. For example, the best healers are Clerics who are members of the Life Domain, while more battle-focused Clerics should join the War Domain. Those who worship an evil god like Lolth could go for the Trickery Domain rather than the Life Domain, but role-playing is about creating backstory. Players who find reason to justify a Lolth-worshiping Life Domain Cleric could have a winner on their hands through their own creativity.
- Light Domain: The perfect subclass for dealing damage and roleplaying a holy warrior on a divine quest.
- Life Domain: This Domain is for players who want to focus on healing and support.
- Trickery Domain: The Trickery Domain is perfect for those who want to play a stealthy spellcaster.
- Knowledge Domain: For scholarly characters and more utility-driven players.
- Nature Domain: Offers a taste of Druidic magic.
- Tempest Domain: Another damage-focused subclass with stormy magic.
- War Domain: Improves the Cleric's skill with weapons and armor.
As Baldur's Gate 3 is currently only available on Early Access, only three subclasses are accessible to players: Life Domain, Light Domain, and Trickery Domain. Four more Domains will become available when Baldur's Gate 3 launches in August: Knowledge Domain, Nature Domain, Tempest Domain, and War Domain, bringing the total up to seven Domains to choose from at character creation. More information about the last four Domains will become available at launch.
Spells Available to Clerics
At level 1, all Clerics are able to use Cantrips and have four Level 1 Spell Slots opened to them. The Cleric's best spells, such as their healing options, are some of the class' biggest draws, since healing is a rarity in Baldur's Gate 3 that makes the Cleric an asset on the field.
While the gameplay elements of a Cleric are enough of a draw, their roleplaying potential is one of the biggest in Baldur's Gate 3 thanks to the impact of their choice of god to worship at character creation. That includes the surprising addition of Bhaal, the god of murder, who was the subject and key antagonist of Baldur's Gate 1 and 2. Being able to worship him as a Cleric has stunning implications for any main character and is sure to draw the attention of characters from across the game.
Baldur's Gate 3 comes out August 3 for PC and September 6 for PS5.