The Wizard class is extremely powerful in Baldur’s Gate 3and using the best build will give you a huge advantage in battle. So, here’s our recommendation for the very best Wizard build to use in the game, including the spells you should equip.
As seen through the companion Gale, the Baldur’s Gate 3 Wizard is a fantastically powerful class, rivaling the likes of Sorcerers, Bards, and even Warlocks. However, just like a Sorcerer, the Wizard can be pretty squishy thanks to their lower health and AC, meaning you’ll have to be pretty careful when creating your character.
So, to help you out, here’s the best Wizard build in Baldur’s Gate 3, including the ideal race, spells, subclass, background, and even a few multiclass options in case you want to move away from any Gale similarities.
Contents
- Best race to choose for a Wizard in Baldur’s Gate 3
- Best subclass for a Wizard in Baldur’s Gate 3
- Best background for a Wizard in Baldur’s Gate 3
- Best Ability Score spread for a Wizard
- Best spells for a Wizard in Baldur’s Gate 3
- Best Illithid powers for a Wizard
- Best multiclass options for the Wizard
- Best build for a Wizard in Baldur’s Gate 3
Gale is a powerful Wizard with a potential for greatness.
Best race to choose for a Wizard in Baldur’s Gate 3
There are a few different races you can choose for an effective Wizard, each prioritizing features that will make your life as a Wizard much easier.
- High Elf
- Half-Elf
- Deep Gnome
Although there are three to choose from, we recommend choosing the High Elf race for its proficiency in perception and additional Wizard Cantrip, especially with it being Fire Bolt.
Best subclass for a Wizard in Baldur’s Gate 3
Your subclass will need to be chosen at Level 2 so don’t worry if you’re just making your character. However, when you get to Level 2, we suggest choosing the Evocation School.
The Evocation School will help reduce the cost of your spells, and will in turn aid your other companions too. On top of this, you get an extra spell, which never hurts.
Best background for a Wizard in Baldur’s Gate 3
When it comes to selecting the best background for a Wizard in Baldur’s Gate 3 Sage is a no-brainer. It grants you proficiency in History and Arcana, two extremely useful skills when exploring the world and uncovering secrets.
Along with that background, we recommend choosing from these skills if possible as they’re the most used throughout the game:
- Insight
- Investigation
- Stealth
- Acrobatics
Best Ability Score spread for a Wizard
The recommended Ability Score spread for the Wizard is pretty good, but if you want to truly optimize your character, these are the scores you should try:
- Strength: 8
- Dexterity: 14
- Constitution: 15
- Wisdom: 10
- Intelligence: 17
- Charisma: 10
Naturally, a Wizards highest ability score should always be Intelligence. This is their spellcasting modifier and will dictate damage, save DCs, and so much more. Then, after that, it’s worth looking at making your Dexterity and Constitution relatively high since those dictate your Health and Armor Class.
Best spells for a Wizard in Baldur’s Gate 3
A Wizard isn’t a Wizard without their spells. It’s easily the most important element of the class, meaning you need to choose wisely. Here are some of the best spells for your Wizard in Baldur’s Gate 3:
- Cantrip: Fire Bolt
- Cantrip: Ray of Frost
- Cantrip: Dancing Lights
- Cantrip: Chill Touch
- Cantrip: Acid Splash
- Cantrip: Mage Hand
- Level 1: Grease
- Level 1: Mage Armor
- Level 1: Magic Missile
- Level 1: Thunderwave
- Level 1: Chromatic Orb
- Level 2: Scorching Ray
- Level 2: Shatter
- Level 2: Cloud of Daggers
- Level 2: Misty Step
- Level 3: Counterspell
- Level 3: Fireball
- Level 3: Haste
- Level 3: Grant Flight
- Level 4: Dimension Door
- Level 4: Banishment
- Level 4: Wall of Fire
- Level 4: Polymorph
- Level 5: Telekinesis
- Level 5: Hold Monster
- Level 5: Cloudkill
- Level 5: Dominate Person
- Level 5: Conjure Elemental
- Level 6: Disintegrate
- Level 6: Sunbeam
- Level 6: True Seeing
Best Illithid powers for the Wizard
Force Tunnel
With the lower AC and Health of a Wizard, you can quickly get into a sticky situation when the enemy gets a little too close for comfort. So, being able to use Force Tunnel to push the enemy away from you is just a fantastic backup to have.
Shield of Thralls
Sure, there are plenty of spells you could cast to protect yourself in Baldur’s Gate 3, but having Shield of Thralls means you’re not wasting a spellslot for the same kind of protection. It’s another ideal power to have in your back pocket.
Displacer Beast Shape
Wizards are inherently squishy, so having this power gives you the chance to get on the battlefield for a change. It’s not necessarily the most powerful one in the group, but it’s plenty of fun if you want to give other styles a go. Just make sure you’re safe before the shape drops.
Best multiclass options for the Wizard
Wizard and Fighter
The Wizard and Fighter multiclass in Baldur’s Gate 3 is often considered one of the most powerful. It combines the heavy armor capabilities of the Fighter with the extremely powerful spells of the Wizard.
Mix those two together and you have a strong melee fighter and an even stronger spellcaster. Add that to an action surge and you’re a one-person army.
Wizard and Cleric
You can’t really go wrong when combining two spellcasters like this together. After all, it works in a similar way to the Wizard / Fighter by adding a little more hardiness to the weaker AC of the Wizard.
On top of the useful spells, you can essentially take your place as the group’s spellcasting damage dealer and the support through the Cleric’s healing.
Best build for a Wizard in Baldur’s Gate 3
Race: High Elf
Background: Sage
Skills: Insight, Investigation
Ability order from highest to lowest: Intelligence, Dexterity, Constitution, Wisdom, Charisma, Strength
Build layout:
| Level | Feature |
|---|---|
| 1 | Cantrips: Ray of Frost, Dancing Lights, Acid Splash — Spells: Thunderwave, Magic Missile, Mage Armor, Grease |
| 2 | Subclass: Evocation — Spell: Chromatic Orb |
| 3 | Spells: Scorching Ray, Misty Step |
| 4 | Cantrip: Chill Touch — Spells: Cloud of Daggers, Shatter — Ability Improvement: Intelligence +2 |
| 5 | Spells: Fireball, Counterspell |
| 6 | Spells: Haste, Grant Flight |
| 7 | Spells: Dimension Door, Banishment |
| 8 | Ability Improvement: Intelligence to 20 — Spells: Polymorph, Wall of Fire |
| 9 | Spells: Telekinesis, Hold Monster |
| 10 | Cantrip: Mage Hand — Spells: Dominate Person, Conjure Elemental |
| 11 | Spells: Disintegrate, Sunbeam |
| 12 | Feat: Warcaster — Spells: True Seeing |
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