The Wizard is one of twelve classes in Baldur's Gate 3. Wizards are extreme knowledge seekers willing to make pacts with beings from other worlds to obtain ancient secrets that will strengthen their magical arsenal.
To deal with such powerful creatures, Warlocks must possess strong mental strength. They have to be able to make a deal with the devil and survive. As such, their primary is ability score Charisma.
There is no one best class Baldur's Gate 3, and the game gives you as much opportunity for creative problem solving as it does for punching. Finding the best class really comes down to how you want to play. Even when you play solo, you still control the rest of your group, so you can experiment with multiple classes at once.
Read on to find out everything you need to know about the Warlock class Baldur's Gate 3and learn all about the best Warlock subclass, feats and build.
Is Warlock the best class for you in BG3?
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Wizards sacrifice the number of spells they know for sheer power. Every Warlock spell slot is the same – the highest level available – and they recharge on a short rest rather than a long rest. Warlocks aren't as versatile as other caster classes, but what they do, they do well.
Warlocks are a great class for you if you want to play a dedicated caster class but don't want to deal with all the prep work that classes like Wizards require. You can still use (a lot of) magic, but you don't have to manage a folder full of spells every morning.
Features of the Warlock class
Hit points
- Hit dice — 1d8 per wizard level
- Hit points at 1st level — 8 + your Constitution modifier
- Hit points at higher levels — 5 + your Constitution modifier per warlock level after 1st
Cantrips
The Warlock starts with two cantrips from the Warlock cantrip list.
Baldur's Gate 3 Warlock Cantrips
| Wizardry | Description |
|---|---|
| Wizardry | Description |
| Blade department | Only take half the damage from Bludgeoning, Piercing, and Slashing attacks |
| Bone cold | Prevent the target from healing until your next turn. An undead target gains disadvantage on attack rolls. |
| Eldritch blast | Conjure 1 beam(s) of crackling energy. |
| Friends | Gain Charisma checks against a non-hostile creature. |
| Magic Hand | Create a spectral hand that can manipulate and interact with objects. |
| Small illusion | Create an illusion that forces nearby creatures to investigate. |
| Poison spray | Project a cloud of harmful gas. |
| Real strike | Gain advantage on your next attack roll. |
Spells
The Warlock starts with two spells from the Warlock spell list, two of which are exclusive to your subclass.
Baldur's Gate 3 Wizard Spells
| Spells | Description |
|---|---|
| Spells | Description |
| Armor of Agathys | Gain 5 temporary hit points and deal 5 cold damage to each creature you hit with a melee attack. |
| Weapons of Hadar | Prevent targets from using responses. |
| Burning hands | Each flammable target is hit with 3-18 fire damage. (Excluding The Fiend) |
| Charming person | Charm a humanoid to prevent it from attacking you. You gain advantage on Charisma Checks in dialogue. |
| Command | Command a creature to flee, move closer, freeze, fall to the ground, or drop its weapon. (Excluding The Fiend) |
| Dissonant whispers | Frighten a creature: it will be easier to hit and will not be able to move. (Excluding The Great Old One) |
| Quick retreat | Gain Dash immediately and as a bonus action on each turn until this spell ends. |
| Faerie Fire | All targets within the light become visible and attack rolls against them have advantage. (Exclusive to Archfey) |
| Hellish reprimand | Respond to your next attacker with flames that deal 2-20 fire damage. |
| Hex | Make your attacks deal an additional 1-6 necrotic damage to the target and give it disadvantage on an ability of your choice. |
| Protection against evil and good | Protect an ally from the attacks and forces of aberrations, celestials, elementals, fey, devils and undead. |
| Tasha's horrible laughter | Leave a creature lying there laughing, without the ability to get up. (Excluding The Great Old One) |
| Sleep | Put creatures into a magical sleep. Select targets up to a total of 24 hit points. (Exclusive to Archfey) |
| Witch bolt | Connect yourself to a target with a lightning bolt. Deal 1-12 additional lightning damage each turn by activating it. |
Actions
Wizards have one action: “Fey presence”, exclusive to the Archfey subclass.
Functions
- Warlock Spell slot — Used to cast Warlock spells, which can be regained by taking a short rest
Skills
- Weapons — Simple weapons
- Shield – Light armor
- Save throw – Wisdom and charisma
- Skills — Choose two skills: Arcana, Deception, History, Intimidation, Research, Nature and Religion
Warlock subclasses
The Warlock has a total of three subclasses, which are unlocked at the start of the game. During character creation, you must choose the alien patron you wish to serve.
The devil
Wizards of the subclass The Fiend have made a deal with an infernal enemy bent on corruption and destruction. If you make a pact with an enemy, you will receive a feature exclusive to The Fiend called 'The blessing of the Dark One”, which grants you four temporary hit points when you defeat an enemy creature.
The Fiend also has two exclusive spells: Burning hands And Command.
The big old one
Those who serve The Great Old One are bound to a mysterious being from the Far Realm, who may not even know you exist. The Great Old One will grant you a feature exclusive to this subclass called “Mortal memory”, which will frighten a creature and any nearby enemies after you land a critical hit, unless they succeed on a Wisdom saving throw.
The Great Old One also has two exclusive spells: Dissonant whispers And Tasha's horrible laughter.
The Archfee
If you choose The Archfey as your subclass, your patron is a lord or lady of the fey, a being from before the time of mortal races. When you are bound to The Archfey, you get an action called 'Fey presence”, which will charm or scare nearby enemies.
The Archfey also has two exclusive spells: Faerie Fire And Sleep.
Best Warlock subclass and built in BG3
Image: Larian Studios via Polygon
Baldur's Gate 3 Races don't really have a direct impact on your class, but certain races and subraces have characteristics that suit certain classes well, such as extra movement or proficiency with certain weapons. For Warlocks, it's best to focus on weapon and armor skills:
- Wore's Drow Weapon Training adds weapons such as the rapiers and hand crossbows
- People' And Half-ElvenCivilian militias add spears, pikes, halberds and glaives, along with shields
- Githyanki Martial Prodigy means you get medium armor, along with longswords and greatswords
- Dwarf Combat Training gives you battle axes, hand axes, light hammers and war hammers. The Shield dwarf subrace you also get Medium Armor
When you create and level up your Warlock, Charisma (for spells) is your most important stat. Your second most important stat depends on how you play outside of combat, but Constitution is also a good option for the hit points: Warlocks, like Sorcerers, tend to be glass cannons. Make Charisma your highest stat and Constitution your second highest.
You choose your Warlock subclass at level 1, but the pact you choose here is actually less important than the Eldritch Invocation you get at level 2 – that said, go for the Great Old One for the most useful features. Your Eldritch Invocation amplifies your Eldritch Blast spell – the bread-and-butter spell for Warlocks – turning it into a Painful explosion.
Best Warlock feats in BG3
Every four levels you get the option to increase your stats or choose an achievement. Feats are special talents that add traits to your character. Once you're happy with your stats and start using Feats, Warlocks can benefit from:
- Actor. Your Charisma increases by 1, to a maximum of 20. Your Proficiency bonus is also doubled on Deception and Performance checks.
- Elemental Adept. Your spells ignore resistance to a damage type of your choice. When you cast these types of spells, you cannot roll a 1.
- Moderately armored. You gain armor proficiency with medium armor and shields, and your Strength or Dexterity increases by 1, up to a maximum of 20.
- Spell Sniper. You learn a cantrip and the number you need to roll a Critical Hit while attacking is reduced by 1. This effect can be stacked.
For more information about the lessons in Baldur's Gate 3See our overviews of the Barbarian, Bard, Cleric, Druid, Fighter, Monk, Paladin, Ranger, Rogue, Sorcerer and Wizard classes. If you're unsure about the choice, check out our guide on which class to start with.