Baldur's Gate 3: How To Build A Sorcerer In BG3

Publish date: 2024-09-30

Baldur’s Gate 3 Sorcerer Build: Picking Your Stats

The Sorcerer is a Charisma-based spellcaster, which means a high Charisma stat will make your spells more likely to hit. This is the order in which you should set your stats.

Charisma should be your highest stat, boosting your Spell Save DC and Spell Attack Bonus.
Dexterity is your second highest stat, as you’ll need the extra Armor Class bonus boost, as you likely won’t be wearing armor. If you are wearing armor, then switch this with Constitution.
Constitution is your third-highest stat as you’re in the lowest Hit Dice group and will need the extra hit points.
Wisdom is your fourth-highest stat to help you pass Wisdom saving throws from enemy effects.
Intelligence is your fifth stat to give you a boost to any Intelligence-based skill checks.
Strength is your dump stat, as you won’t be whacking people with sticks. Just dump the heavy gear on your party members.

Baldur’s Gate 3 Sorcerer Build: The Best Races

The launch version of Baldur’s Gate 3 dumped the racial stat bonuses, so there are no longer any bad choices when it comes to selecting a race for your Sorcerer character. These are the best choices for your Sorcerer, as they have extra powers that will be useful:

Asmodeus Tiefling or Mephistopheles Tiefling: Tieflings gain Fire resistance out of the gate and access to spells as they level up, adding more options to your repertoire. Asmodeus Tieflings receive the Produce Flame Cantrip at level 1, Hellish Rebuke at level 3, and Darkness at level 5. Mephistopheles Tieflings receive the Mage Hand Cantrip at level 1, Burning Hands at level 3, and Flame Blade at level 5.
Githyanki: You receive Light and Medium Armor Proficiency, letting you wear stronger armor and allowing you to prioritize Constitution or Wisdom over Dexterity. They also receive the Astral Knowledge ability, the Mage Hand Cantrip at level 1, Psionic Jump at level 3, and Misty Step at level 5.
High Half-Elf: You receive Light Armor and Shield Proficiency, a bonus Cantrip from the Wizard spell list, Darkvision, and Fey Ancestry.

Baldur’s Gate 3 Sorcerer Build: The Best Backgrounds & Skills

Backgrounds aren’t as important in Baldur’s Gate 3 as they are in D&D, as they mostly exist to provide more skill proficiencies. You can earn Inspiration dice for completing Background Goals, but the game does a poor job of explaining how they work.

In Baldur’s Gate 3, Sorcerers can select two skills from the following list: Arcana, Deception, Insight, Intimidation, Persuasion, and Religion. The best ones to select are Deception and Persuasion, as you can make the most of your high Charisma stat to talk your way out of tricky situations. As such, these are the best Backgrounds to select:

Acolyte: This gives you Insight and Religion skill proficiencies. Insight is helpful because it tells you when enemies are deceptive, while Religion is helpful because cults and ancient faiths are a big part of the game.
Urchin: This gives you Sleight of Hand and Stealth skill proficiencies. These are helpful if you don’t want to go in guns blazing in every situation, especially when the group needs to stealth through an enemy location.

Baldur’s Gate 3 Sorcerer Build: Best Sorcerer Subclass

There are three Sorcerer subclasses in Baldur’s Gate 3: Draconic Bloodline, Storm Sorcery, and Wild Magic. All three are excellent choices, with different pros and cons.

Draconic Bloodline: This gives you more hit points, a better Armor Class score, and an extra damage type resistance at level 6. If you select Tiefling as your race, you’ll eventually gain two damage resistances. When you level up, you’ll deal extra damage with your chosen element and will eventually gain the ability to fly. Choose Draconic Bloodline if you want to specialize in any element other than Thunder or Lightning.
Storm Sorcery: This is the class you pick if you want to be a Thunder or Lightning master, as your spells with those elements will become stronger. You also gain the useful Tempestious Magic ability, allowing you to fly away after casting a spell without provoking an attack of opportunity. Choose Storm Sorcery if you want to master Thunder or Lightning spells.
Wild Magic: This is the most chaotic class in the game, as there’s a chance your spells will cause Wild Magic surges, resulting in unpredictable effects. As they level up, they’ll gain the ability to control dice rolls to a limited degree, and at level 11, they can cause enemy casters to suffer from Wild Magic surges. Choose Wild Magic if you’re playing on stream and want funny things to happen.

Baldur’s Gate 3 Sorcerer Build: Best Cantrips

A level 1 Sorcerer has access to four Cantrips, not counting any you might get from your race. These can be cast an unlimited number of times and will be used a lot during the early hours of Baldur’s Gate 3. The best ones to select are:

Friends: As a Charisma-based character, this will give you Advantage on key Persuasion checks
Mage Hand: This lets you manipulate objects from afar, which can help you when sneaking around or solving puzzles.

You also need some attack Cantrips, as these will be your main weapon against regular mobs. Your selection should try to match your elemental focus, unless you’re playing Wild Magic, in which case, choose Fire Bolt and Bone Chill. A Storm Sorcery Sorcerer should select Shocking Grasp, while your choice of Draconic Origin will determine your Cantrip (Fire Bolt for Fire, Ray of Frost for Cold, Acid Splash for Acid, and Poison Spray for Poison.)

Baldur’s Gate 3 Sorcerer Build: Best Level 1 Spells

Your choice of spells is vitally important in Baldur’s Gate 3, as you only receive access to a handful of level 1 spells, and you’ll only receive one new one per level, along with the ability to swap out one you’re not using. These are the best spells to select at character creation:

Chromatic Orb: This spell requires an attack roll, but if it hits, you deal a ton of elemental damage to a foe and create an elemental surface that you can use for weapon dipping.
Mage Armor: If you don’t have Light or Medium Armor Proficiency, select this, and you’ll receive a bonus to your Armor Class that lasts until your next Long Rest.
Magic Missile: This creates three bolts of energy that strike foes. The great thing about this spell is that it never misses, so if you need to take down an enemy that’s low on hit points, use Magic Missile.
Sleep: This knocks out up to 24 hit points worth of enemies for two turns, which is an incredible advantage in combat. Sleep is also a prime candidate for switching out when you level up, as it becomes less useful over time.
Thunderwave: This powerful attack spell also knocks enemies back, which is great in a game full of environmental hazards where you can toss foes off a cliff.

Baldur’s Gate 3: Sorcery Points & Metamagic Explained

Once you reach level 2, you’ll start to receive Sorcery Points. These can be used to create brand new spell slots, allowing you to cast more spells per day. You’ll also get to choose Metamagic abilities, which let you spend Sorcery Points to alter your spells. These are the best Metamagic features to pick:

Careful Spell: This ensures any allies caught in one of your spell AoEs will automatically pass their saving throws, severely cutting down on collateral damage and allowing you to throw out big spells with impunity.
Quickened Spell: This lets you cast a spell as a Bonus Action, essentially allowing you to cast two spells in one round, making it the best Metemagic choice by far.
Twinned Spell: This lets you strike two targets with a spell or Cantrip, allowing you to hit multiple foes at once.

As the Sorcerer has so few spells available to them, make sure to always give them scrolls and any items that provide one-shot magical abilities. These extra options will make your character a lot more useful in combat and prevent you from getting bored of the same few magical tricks.

About the author

Scott Baird

Scott has been writing for Gamepur since 2023, having been a former contributor to websites like Cracked, Dorkly, Topless Robot, Screen Rant, The Gamer, and TopTenz. A graduate of Edge Hill University in the UK, Scott started as a film student before moving into journalism. Scott covers Dungeons & Dragons, Final Fantasy, Pokémon, and MTG. He can be contacted on LinkedIn.

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