Of all the classes you can choose from in Baldur’s Gate 3, there are none more in-tune with nature than the Druid. However, that love of life doesn’t mean that they can’t pack one hell of a punch when they’ve got to. If you’re trying to become the most effective force of nature you can, here’s the best Druid build in Baldur’s Gate 3.
Right off the bat, it should be known that the Druid’s primary ability is going to be Intelligence, and their saving throws are going to be in Intelligence and Wisdom. You’ll have proficiency in simple weapons, shields, light and heavy armor, and whatever Circle you choose to be a part of once you reach level two will dictate what Subclass Features you’ll get to use for the rest of your playthrough. Before that though, you’ve got to choose what spells and cantrips to have at level 1.
What Cantrips & Spells Should You Choose For Your Druid?
As a Druid, you’ll be able to choose two cantrips out of Guidance, Poison Spray, Produce Flame, Resistance, Shillelagh and Thorn Whip. This decision will likely guide the rest of the build for your Druid, as you can choose to have more supportive and defensive cantrips or you can go for as much damage as possible.
If you’re looking to build a supportive Druid that can buff and aid your allies, I would recommend choosing Guidance and Resistance so that you can boost your allies’ ability checks while also giving them extra resistance and help on saving throws. Pair that with Faerie Fire and Healing Word as your spells to provide your allies with advantage on attack rolls and a healthy amount of healing.
If you’d rather an offensive Druid who can hold their own on the front line, go with Poison Spray and Shillelagh as your cantrips to deal some extra damage and leave enemies with debuffs. Combine that with Fog Cloud and Thunderwave to get up close, blind your foes and blast them into either a better position or off of something precarious.
What Druid Circle Should You Choose in Baldur’s Gate 3?
When it comes down to choosing your Druid Circle, you’ve got three options: the Circle of the Moon, the Circle of the Land and the Circle of the Spores. Each of these will determine which features you get to use throughout the game, and will affect your interactions with characters you meet.
Circle of the Moon
The Circle of the Moon will allow your Druid to use Wild Shape as a bonus action and turn into a beast of their choosing twice per short rest, but it also give you the ability to turn into a Bear and take on the animal attributes and stats of a regular bear in game. On top of that, you’re able to use Lunar Mend to regain hit points in exchange for a bonus action and level 1 spell slot.
This Druid Circle is going to be the most useful if you’re trying to build your Druid as more of a tank. The added hit points from the Wild Shape combined with the ability to recover health should provide you with greater longevity on the battlefield.
Circle of the Land
Choosing the Circle of the Land allows you to transform into a beast using Wild Shape the same as the Circle of the Moon, but instead of recovering health and turning into a bear, you can recover spell slots while you’re outside of combat. That can come in handy if you have buffs that you don’t want to lose from taking a short rest, but you still need to recover some of your spell slots to stay in the fight.
Choose the Circle of the Land if you know you’re going to rely heavily on spellcasting, as it will allow you to provide backup for the rest of your party more effectively than the other Circles. If only you were able to give some of those spell slots to your other magical party members, instead of keeping them all for yourself.
Circle of the Spores
While also allowing your Druid to use Wild Shape and turn into a beast at will, the Circle of Spores gives you Halo of Spores to use as a reaction to deal 1d4 necrotic damage. On top of that, you get Symbiotic Entity, which not only gives you 4 temporary hit points but an extra 1d6 necrotic damage to go with them and it doubles the damage from using Halo of Spores. As an extra little bonus, you can also bully your undead enemies with Bone Chill and deal some extra necrotic damage.
Of all the Circles you can choose from, the Circle of Spores is going to the be best choice for dealing as much damage as possible and holding the front lines as a Druid. It gives you the most versatility in how you can combat enemies, and its the least focused on aiding the rest of your party through buffs.
What Is the Best Build for Druids in BG3?
If you pair the Circle of Spores with some powerful, damage-inflicting spells and cantrips, you’ll find yourself with a Druid build that can take a great deal of damage while dishing out even more. Focus your feats to help you succeed on Intelligence and Wisdom checks, and you’ll be not only a knowledgeable Druid, but one that should be feared by their enemies.
While Druids can be incredibly strong healers, their value in combat is going to be better utilized if they’re less focused on healing and more focused on fighting. Using Wild State stops your character from being able to speak or use spells, so if you focus your build on using spells and then want to use your Wild Shape, you’ll find yourself without most of the main benefits of being a Druid in the first place.
That’s about it for the best Druid build for Baldur’s Gate 3. Druids are a versatile and reliable class that can alter your gameplay drastically depending on how you use it, but when used properly are also a ton of fun. If you want more build guides or news about BG3, keep on checking back here.
