Baldur's Gate 3's multiclass system has me giddy to get busy crafting some kind of messed up new type of guy out of the component parts of Dungeons & Dragons like I did in CRPGs of yore, a Fighter / Mage / Artificer / Hierophant / Whatever, man. Multiclassing has always been synonymous with getting the most out of these games for the more grognardy sort of RPG-liker.
D&D's multiclass rules will let you combine multiple Baldur's Gate 3 classes together into a hybrid that's more powerful, or maybe just more fun, than either individually. You're also walking a tightrope, risking a watered down character if you don't manage a careful balance of how much to invest in each class and when. In the first part of this guide, I'll go over the basic rules and best practices of multiclassing, but you can skip to the second section for a collection of multiclass builds and multiclass ideas.
Note: We've updated this guide from its pre-release version based on what we've found in the full game.
How to multiclass
Each time you level up in Baldur's Gate 3, you can choose any of its 12 classes to progress in. Baldur's Gate 3 has actually removed tabletop attribute restrictions from multiclasses, so your only restriction is whether the choice is worthwhile or not.
Baldur's Gate 3 has a relatively low level cap of 12, and multiclassing can delay or lock you out of endgame abilities—how much of a loss this is depends on the class. A lot of key bonuses are also tied to the level of your individual classes as opposed to your overall level. For example, you get an "ASI" or feat/attribute bonus every four levels of a class—a level 8 fighter would have two ASIs, while a 5 Fighter/3 Rogue would have just one.
Other level milestones to keep in mind:
- Extra Attack: Fighters, Barbarians, Rangers, Monks, and Paladins get a second full attack per turn at level 5. Blade/Valour Bards get this at level 6. Extra Attack is a priority ability you don't want to delay more than one or two levels.
- Subclass: Most classes let you choose a subclass at level 3 (your Bard college, for example). This is often, but not always, the minimum number of levels you want to hit in a second or third class. Most spellcasters, and also Paladins, choose their subclass at level 1.
- Spell levels: Full casters gain new spell levels and spell slots every odd class level. Additionally, spellcaster/spellcaster multiclasses have a shared pool of spell slots, removing a major disadvantage of this kind of character in older versions of D&D. A Wizard 4/Cleric 3 can only cast level 2 spells from each class, but will have a large number of spell slots to devote to each, with their Cleric spells able to go in Wizard slots and vice versa—it's not known if Larian has tweaked that progression from tabletop rules, though.
- Proficiencies: Classes gain fewer weapon, skill, and saving throw proficiencies when chosen later on than at level 1. It can sometimes be beneficial to choose a class like Fighter or Rogue at level 1 for their excellent martial/skill proficiencies, even if they aren't going to be your main class focus.
- Attributes: While those feats can be tempting, the highest you can raise an Attribute at character creation is 17 for a +3 bonus to its applications. You get another +1 every even level, to a max of +5 at 20 in a stat. I've found that a lot of my characters have 17 in a primary stat, and 15 in a secondary, and increasing both of those attributes to the next threshold is almost always the best use of your first ASI.
Sorcadins are out, Palocks are in
Paladin 2 / Warlock 10 ⚔️👼️
- Pick this if you want: A knight-errant spellsword with a darker side
- Key Abilities: Divine Smite + Warlock spell slots, Pact of the Blade
- Priority Attributes: Charisma, Strength* (consider respeccing to just Charisma)
- Secondary Attributes: Constitution, Dexterity
- Non-combat capability: Pretty good! Definitely get proficiency in Persuade.
- Recommended starting race: Half-Elf, Half-Orc, Zariel Tiefling, Dragonborn
- Leveling order: Take your two levels of Pally, then all Warlock, baby.
The beloved Sorcadin of tabletop powergaming fame is a little bit DOA in Baldur's Gate 3. The melee cantrips that make it work, Green Flame Blade and Booming Blade (they basically function as regular attacks, helping make up for the loss of Extra Attack), are absent in Larian's take on D&D 5e, meaning that a traditional Paladin 2 / Sorcerer 10 Sorcadin is much less effective.
You could still get a nice gumbo cooking with a Paladin 6 / Sorcerer 6, but I'll do you one better: The Palock, a Paladin 2 / Warlock 10. If you choose Pact of the Blade as your pact boon, your Warlock will effectively get extra attack even as a spellcasting class. It only applies to Pact weapons, but you can Bind magical weapons to act as pact weapons.
You can use Warlock spell slots to crank out the Paladin's incredibly powerful Divine Smite, and you even get more and higher-level spell slots at a faster rate than a Pally. The pièce de résistance is that Warlocks get spells back on short rest, which means restoring Divine Smite uses on short rest—welcome to Smite City baby.
I think you could have fun with this build playing from the early game and not respeccing, but just note that it has two power spikes: level 5 (Warlock level 3), when you can choose your Pact, as well as level 7, when you take your fifth Warlock level and nab Extra Attack with pact weapons. You'll still be dishing out the smites, but level 7 is about the latest I'd want to delay Extra attack for a martial character.
In praise of respeccing: Blade Pact Warlocks can use their Charisma modifier instead of Strength when attacking with their pact weapons, meaning you've got all the reason in the world to reset your attributes at level 5 when you get Pact of the Blade, dumping Strength and Dexterity in favor of Constitution and Charisma.
Subclass wise, Oath of Vengeance's damage focus lends itself to this high-damage build, but Oath of the Ancients has a certain lore synergy with an Archfey Warlock.
Tanky Battlemage
Fighter 2 / Wizard 10 🛡️🧙
- Pick this if you want: A battlemage, a character primarily focused on spellcasting, but with heavy armor, a shield, and melee competency helping them with survivability.
- Key Abilities: Wizard spells, Heavy Armor Proficiency, Martial Weapon Proficiency, Shield Proficiency, Action Surge.
- Priority Attributes: Intelligence
- Secondary Attributes: Constitution, *Dexterity
- Non-combat capability: Not as great, you'd have to carve out a place for it with skill proficiency ASIs.
- Recommended starting race: High Elf, Githyanki, Gnome, Asmodeus or Mephistopheles Tiefling
- Leveling order: One or two levels of Fighter, depending on if you want Action Surge, then all Wizard.
Many classes, including spellcasters, will find a lot of benefit in taking just one or two levels of Fighter at the start of their build thanks to their bevy of proficiencies opening up gear options for more limited classes.
All of those could prove beneficial, especially to an otherwise-easy- to- kill Wizard, and at level 2 Fighters gain Action Surge, an extra main action usable once per short rest. The bonus action and proficiencies could prove beneficial to any number of character roles.
A Fighter 1/ Wizard 11 would generally be harder to kill than a straight Wiz, with more options when cornered by enemies, while only delaying and not losing endgame spells. Bump that Fighter level to 2, and you lose sixth circle spells in favor of Action Surge throughout the game.
You'd basically play this as a straight Wizard, trading pure glass cannon spell power for a little more versatility when cornered. In early access, heavy armor does not require a minimum strength to use, so you may consider bumping your Dexterity to 14 and focusing on finesse weapons, a shield, and whatever armor, medium or heavy, provides you with the highest armor class or AC.
Dark Brotherhood Assassin Edgelord
Assassin Rogue 4 / Gloom Stalker 8 🥷
- Pick this if you want: Your classic stealth/DPS assassin, either with dual finesse weapons or a bow. A strong potential Astarion build.
- Key Abilities: Dread Ambusher, Assassinate, Action Surge
- Priority Attributes: Dexterity
- Secondary Attributes: Constitution, Wisdom, *Charisma (if acting as party face)
- Non-combat capability: Decent to excellent depending on whether you start as a Ranger or a Rogue.
- Recommended starting race: Half-Elf, Wood Elf, Drow, Halfling
- Leveling order: One level each Rogue then Ranger, then reach level 4 as a Rogue, then finish the game as a Ranger
A very strong take on your classic "from the shadows" dual wield DPS ambusher. The Ranger's Gloom Stalker subclass has an incredibly powerful tent pole ability: Dread Ambusher, which gives a flat +3 to Initiative, giving you a higher chance of attacking first in combat, in addition to other huge advantages in the first round of a combat encounter listed down below.
Assassin subclass Rogues gain the Assassinate ability, which gives unique bonuses against enemies who haven't taken a turn in combat yet, as well as the Rogue's bonus sneak attack damage. Combine the two together, and begin as many fights as possible by stealthing right up to priority enemies, giving you the following advantages in the first (and typically most impactful) round of a battle:
- One free 2d6 damage sneak attack before combat starts, another in the first round of battle
- Bonus movement speed
- An extra attack with 1d8 bonus damage
- Advantage on your attack rolls.
- Automatic critical hits.
You'll want to be careful about getting caught out from the rest of your party, but this build gives you an incredibly strong "alpha strike" at the beginning of combat, and could potentially let you just delete enemy spellcasters or ranged damage dealers behind their lines. After that first round of combat, you still have a high-damage Ranger/Rogue to hold their own or even retreat back into the shadows with a high stealth skill and clever positioning.
There's a really great synergy here with a dual wielding combat style: with dual finesse weapons for melee and dual hand crossbows for ranged combat, you can maximize your utility. There's also just something so classically "Assassin" to the combo of dual daggers, dual crossbows.
This version of the build maximizes those valuable ASIs, gaining all three potential ones in the game, but you get everything you need with 3 levels of Rogue and 5 of Ranger. Another potential variation adds in two levels of Fighter for that juicy Action Surge further bolstering your already-excellent first round of combat.
There's an argument to be made for rushing level 5 Ranger for Extra Attack, but I really don't like leaving those excellent level 1 Rogue skill proficiencies on the table, and Assassinate on its own is so, so good. To that end, I'd just aim to hit four levels of Rogue right at the start for Assassinate and your first ASI, then to play the rest of the game as a Ranger.
Pretty Much Just An Arc Warlock From Destiny
Tempest Domain Cleric 2 / Storm Sorcerer 10 ⚡
- Pick this if you want: The lightning master. Think the Arc Warlocks from Destiny or Emperor Palpatine from Star Wars.
- Key Abilities: Sorcerer spells (particularly Lightning Bolt), Wrath of the Storm, Channel Divinity: Destructive Wrath, Cleric weapon/armor proficiencies
- Primary Attributes: Charisma
- Secondary Attributes: Constitution, Dexterity
- Non-combat capability: Pretty good with the Sorc's high Charisma, even better if you get Persuasion proficiency.
- Recommended starting race: Half-Elf, Drow, Zariel Tiefling, Dragonborn
- Leveling order: Two to Cleric then ten Sorcerer.
You're taking the two lightning guys, and you're mashing them together. Your two main advantages over a standard Storm Sorcerer are more survivability in general—Clerics get medium armor and shields—and the Tempest Cleric's lightning synergies with Storm Sorcerer. Tempest Clerics gain Wrath of the Storm, allowing them to retaliate against melee assailants with a big 'ole zap, and Channel Divinity: Destructive Wrath. That last one allows Storm Clerics to use their Channel Divinity points to deal max damage with a lightning or thunder spell.
Channel Divinity can only be used once per short rest with this build, but it'll turn spells like the third level cast, Lightning Bolt, into a super nuke you'll always have in your back pocket. The Tempest Cleric / Storm Sorcerer is maybe more of a lateral move over a pure Sorcerer, but offers a fun theme and playstyle, as well as similar benefits to a Fighter dip.
You're going to be relying on your Sorcerer spells more than Cleric, but at character creation I still would want at least 14 Wisdom to take advantage of Wrath of the Storm. Otherwise, it's Charisma all day, as high as it'll go. Similar to the Fighter/Wizard, I'd opt for Dexterity over Strength, finesse weapons like Rapiers, and a Shield with Medium Armor to maximize survivability and get the most out of the two Cleric levels.
Hulk Smash
Barbarian 9 / Champion Fighter 3 🪓💪😤
- Pick this if you want: The tankiest, beefiest, two-handed critical hits. This build would work for Karlach.
- Key Abilities: Action Surge, Improved Critical, Unarmored Defense, Great Weapon Master
- Primary Attributes: Constitution, Strength, Dexterity
- Secondary Attributes: No can do, hoss.
- Non-combat capability: lol
- Recommended starting race: Half-Orc, Githyanki
- Leveling order: Barbarian to level 5, three levels of Fighter, then Barbarian all the way.
This build is extremely simple: essentially, you sacrifice high-level Barbarian abilities like Relentless Rage (keep fighting on the brink of death similar to a Half-Orc) and the Barbarian subclasses' level 10 abilities in favor of Action Surge and the Champion's Improved Critical making it easier to land critical hits, and that latter ability also dovetails nicely with level 9 Barbarians' increased critical damage.
Since Barbarians get Unarmored Defense (add Dexterity and Constitution bonuses to AC when not wearing armor), they don't benefit as much from starting level 1 as a fighter for Heavy Armor Proficiency. With that in mind, a quick rush to level 5 as a Barbarian for Extra Attack is the name of the game, followed by your three fighter levels for Action Surge and Improved Critical. The Barbarian subclass you pick is less crucial to the core of the build—Berserker seems like the optimal choice for mondo damage, but we think Wild Magic Barbarians look like one of the most fun subclasses in Baldur's Gate 3.
Constitution, Strength, and Dexterity will be critical for shoring up a Barbarian / Champion's damage and defenses, with little room for namby pamby niceties like Intelligence or Charisma. Half-Orcs and Githyanki lend themselves to the build, and Karlach is definitely a good fit as well, either as a companion in your party or your choice of origin character. For ASI picks, Great Weapon Master is a lock, while Polearm Master (again, depending on weapon choice, this could combo with Great Weapon Master and focusing on weapons like glaives) or a straight Ability Score Improvement to Strength, Dexterity, and/or Constitution stand out to me as good options for the Barbarian's second ASI.
