There are plenty of classes to choose from when you’re building your character in Baldur’s Gate 3, each setting the standard for how you play the game. The Cleric is one of the better classes you can select if you’re looking for a balanced character that can provide just as much healing as they can damage, but there are many different ways to build them. Here’s how to build the best Cleric you can in BG3.
For starters, keep in mind that Clerics’ primary ability is going to be Wisdom, and they’ve got saving throw proficiency in Charisma and Wisdom. You’re also going to be proficient in simple weapons, but you’ll be able to wear both light and medium armor, along with shields.
Similar to Warlocks, Clerics have a couple of choices to make before stepping out on their journey. At Level 1, you have to choose both a Cleric Domain and a Deity to follow. These decisions will drive the rest of your Cleric build from this point on, so make sure that you read carefully and make the right choice for your play style before building the rest of your character.
What Cleric Domains Can You Choose From?
Your Cleric Domain represents everything your Cleric stands for, and dictates what spells and features you’ll have. In Baldur’s Gate 3, there are seven Cleric Domains to choose from: Light, Trickery, Knowledge, Nature, Tempest, War and Life. Your spells and features will revolve around whatever choice you make, so here’s the domains listed out with their spells and features.
Light Domain
A Cleric that chooses the Light Domain is going to be mainly focused on using divine light to outsmart and destroy their enemies. The spells you get are focused on giving advantage to your allies, disadvantage to your enemies and burning them to a crisp if they get too close. This build would be best paired with strong allies with powerful weapons that can make the most of the Cleric’s advantages.
Spells
- Faerie Fire
- Burning Hands
Subclass Feature
- Warding Flare
Trickery Domain
Choosing the Trickery Domain will guide your Cleric’s build towards illusion and deception, focusing more on buffing your allies and hindering your enemies without dealing as much damage. This Cleric would be best used if you like to avoid combat entirely, and would go great paired with a Rogue or another stealth-focused class to make the most of your buffs.
Spells
- Blessing of the Trickster
- Charm Person
- Disguise Self
Knowledge Domain
The Knowledge Domain is one that grants you — unsurprisingly — an intellectual advantage throughout your adventure. You get to choose two out of Arcana, History, Nature, or Religion to become proficient in, which will double your bonus on any skill checks for those that you picked. You’ll also get to choose two languages to learn right from level one, which can be the difference between conversation and combat.
This Cleric build would be best suited for those players that prefer to avoid combat instead of running right into it. If you do find yourself in a fight, these Clerics aren’t as useful for damage as they are for opening the enemies up for the rest of the party.
Spells
Command
Sleep
Subclass Feature
- Blessings of Knowledge
Nature Domain
The Nature Domain is very helpful for when you want to avoid combat with animals and maybe focus your forces on the more bipedal enemies in the world. Not only do you get to choose proficiency in Animal Handling, Nature or Survival, but you even get a Druid cantrip of your choice. You also get spells allowing you to speak with and deter animals from attacking you, providing much needed protection in the more wild areas of the realms. Oh yeah, and you gain proficiency in heavy armor, just to top it off.
Spells
- Shillelagh
- Speak with Animals
- Animal Friendship
Subclass Feature
- Acolyte of Nature
Tempest Domain
Clerics who go for the Tempest Domain will find themselves using more powerful magic that can push back, blind and greatly damage enemies. The Tempest Domain lends itself to those who want to round up enemies for their party to hit with area-of-effect damage, or if you know how to position yourself on the battlefield you can strategically blast your foes off of some very high places.
Proficiency in martial weapons and heavy armor will give you the edge to get up close and personal. However, choosing the Tempest Domain might encourage a bit more thoughtful use of your spells and abilities to fully make the most of them, from timing to positioning on the battlefield.
Spells
- Thunderwave
- Fog Cloud
Subclass Feature
- Wrath of the Storm
War Domain
The War Domain is the closest of the Cleric builds you can get to having a tank, because these Clerics are focused on dealing extra attacks, hitting hard and resisting damage. Pair that with proficiency in heavy armor and martial weapons, and you’ll have a hard-hitting front-line fighter ready to leave a dent in the enemy’s forces.
Spells
- Divine Favour
- Shield of Faith
Subclass Feature
- War Priest
Life
The healer of the group, the Life Domain focuses on giving you spells to heal and buff your allies’ damage while you’re in combat. You get proficiency in heavy armor which should keep you protected while you’re doing your job, and your healing spells are boosted by your subclass feature to make you extra effective on the battlefield.
Spells
- Bless
- Cure Wounds
Subclass Feature
- Disciple of Life
What Deity Should You Pick For Your Cleric?
While your Cleric Domain functions more as a subclass for your character and impacts your play style, your chosen Deity will be what dictates how other characters interact with you in the game. They don’t give you any different traits in either abilities or combat, but characters will feel better or worse about you depending on what deities they follow in relation to who you follow.
If you want to have a good relationship with Shadowheart, for example, choosing to follow Selune likely won’t earn you any brownie points, as she’s a devout worshiper of Shar, who’s both the sister and enemy of Selune. Just keep in mind that the more evil-leaning your deity, the more evil-leaning NPCs you’ll get along with. If you’re looking to be the People’s Cleric, then you should choose a more commonly-admired deity to follow.
What is the Best Cleric Build in BG3?
The best Cleric build is going to be the one that best complements not only your play style, but that of your party members as well. If your party is filled with strong damage dealers, you’ll be better off choosing the Light Domain to give them advantage or the Life Domain in order to heal them the most effectively.
If you already have a strong healer on your side, the Cleric’s healing isn’t going to give your party the extra edge it needs in a fight, so you’d be best off choosing the War Domain and helping from the front line. The extra defense from Heavy Armor paired with the ability to attack twice using a bonus action and a War Priest Charge will be a huge help for getting through combat quickly.
As you continue to level your Cleric, make sure that you’re focusing your new spells and abilities around your chosen Domain to get the most out of your character. Focus on buffs for your allies and healing spells for the Life and Light Domains, and extra damage and magical protection for the War or Tempest Domains. Also try to make your weapon choices match up with your abilities, so focus on ranged attacks if your aim is support, and melee attacks if your goal is brute force.
That’s all there is to it for the best Cleric build in Baldur’s Gate 3. As you continue to level your Cleric and gain more spells and higher spell slots, you can choose to either continue focusing on either damage or support, or you can work to balance your abilities so that you don’t feel like a one-trick pony. If you want more character builds and other guides for BG3, keep checking back here.
