Baldur’s Gate 3 Class Guide: Get to Know the Fighter, Ranger, and Cleric

Baldur’s Gate 3 is in Early Access. Currently, there are a total of six classes players can choose from when creating their player character. For those unfamiliar with the systems found in Dungeons & Dragons, it can seem a bit daunting when checking out all of the available options. In the first part of our Baldur’s Gate 3 class guide, I’ll be breaking down what its Fighter, Ranger, and Cleric are and what sorts of roles they serve in your party.

Baldur’s Gate 3 Fighter

The Fighter is as straightforward as straightforward can get in Baldur’s Gate 3. Fighters are mostly concerned with dealing damage, though they can take a fair amount of hits if you put enough points into Constitution. If you’re new to Baldur’s Gate, then the Fighter will probably be the best class for you–they’re uncomplicated, don’t have to balance spells, and you slap whatever weapon you want on them. You will be able to recruit a Fighter companion character in Baldur’s Gate 3 through story progression, so don’t feel obligated to make a Fighter if you’re looking for party balance. That doesn’t mean two Fighters can’t coexist in the same party, however.

Fighters have Light, Medium, and Heavy Armor Proficiency. They also have Simple Weapon, Shield, and Martial Weapon Proficiency.

Fighters have the Second Wind ability, which allows them to restore a certain percentage of hit points based on a roll. Fighters can also specialize into the Battle Master and Eldritch Knight subclasses.

Baldur’s Gate 3 Ranger

The Ranger is a class similar to the Fighter and Rogue in Baldur’s Gate 3, only with some minimal spell casting abilities. However, this class can choose a Favored Enemy. What does having a Favored Enemy entail in Baldur’s Gate? It depends on what specialization you choose. The Bounty Hunter, for example, will make escapes for restrained enemies significantly more difficult, whereas the Sanctified Stalker draws from your Wisdom stat when casting spells.

Rangers naturally have Light and Medium Armor Proficiency (though depending on your Favored Enemy selection certain Rangers will have access to Heavy Armor Proficiency) and can use Simple and Martial Weapons, along with shields.

As it currently stands, there is no Ranger companion character in Baldur’s Gate 3. If you decide to go the path of the Ranger, you are potentially bringing in unique skills to the party, since no companion can currently fill the niche that the Ranger does.

I’ll be breaking down the Favored Enemy and Natural Explorer options for the Ranger in Baldur’s Gate 3 below:

Favored Enemy

• Bounty Hunter: Gain proficiency in Investigation, creatures that you Restrain have a harder time escaping.
• Keeper of the Vale: You gain proficiency in Arcana and can cast Protection from Evil and Good.
• Mage Breaker: Gain proficiency with Arcane and gain access to the True Strike cantrip. Your spell casting proficiency will draw from your Wisdom stat.
• Ranger Knight: Gain the Heavy Armor and History Proficiency.
• Sanctified Stalker: Gain proficiency in Religion and access to the Sacred Flame cantrip. Similar to the Mage Breaker your spell casting proficiency will draw from your Wisdom stat.

Natural Explorer

• Beast Tamer: You can cast Find Familiar.
• Urban Tracker: You can gain proficiency with the Disguise Kit and Thieves Tools
• Wasteland Wander: Cold/Fire/Poison: Depending on which of these you select, you will take half damage from either Cold, Fire, or Poison.

The Ranger can choose the Beast Master or Hunter subclasses.

Baldur’s Gate 3 Cleric

The Cleric is the healer in Baldur’s Gate 3 and, as it stands, they are currently the only healer available in Early Access. Playing a Cleric isn’t entirely necessary, as you will meet a companion character that is a Cleric very early on. However, having one as part of your party composition is highly recommended. Healing is invaluable in combat and, while you can always trek to camp after particularly arduous battles, Clerics can provide healing outside of combat as well.

Clerics come with Light and Medium Armor Proficiency and Simple Weapon and Shield Proficiencies. Clerics of the Life Domain will have Heavy Armor Proficiency.

Below I’ll be breaking down the Domains and Pantheons available to select from when creating your own Cleric and how these choices will affect your list of spells and cantrips.

Domains

While they may seem insignificant, Domains are actually quite important when building a Cleric. Depending on the respective Domain you select different skills will be available for your Cleric to access.

For example, a Cleric of the Trickery Domain will be able to cast a spell on a selected party member that will make it easier for them to sneak. Additionally they will have access to the Invoke Duplicity skills which will allow a Cleric of the Trickery Domain to create an illusion of themselves.

By comparison, a Cleric of the Life Domain will be granted the Preserve Life spell that can be used as a group heal. And a Cleric of the Light Domain will have access to the Warding Flare skill that will make it more difficult for enemies to hit your character.

There are other spells that make Clerics of these specific Domains unique through how their Channel Divinity ability will develop through said Domain. I will list all of these starting Domain spells below:

Trickery

• Duplicity – Allows Cleric to create an illusion of themselves.
• Disguise Self – Magically change all aspects of your appearance.
• Charm Person – Magically charm any humanoid creature you see.
• Action Blessing of the Trickster – Grant another creature an advantage on Stealth checks.

Light

• Radiance of Dawn – Illuminates dark areas and hurts light-sensitive enemies/creatures.
• Faerie Fire – Encases targets in colorful light, and turns the target visible.
• Burning Hands – Fire shoots out of your fingers, igniting anything flammable and dealing damage to the selected target.
• Cantrip Light – Infuse an item with an aura of light.

Life

• Preserve Life – Heals all party members for 50% of their life points

Deity

There are a a plethora of Deities in Baldur’s Gate 3. What is a Deity? It’s just a fancy word for god or goddess that The Forgotten Realms campaign setting ascribes to. That being said, there are a total of twenty different Deities in Baldur’s Gate 3. Do Deities affect what spells your Cleric will be able to learn, or will they potentially open up new spell trees based on who you’ve selected? The answer is currently, no. So far selecting any Deity will not affect what spells will be available for you to learn or utilize. However, this may change with future updates.

Baldur’s Gate 3 is currently available in Early Access for PC and Google Stadia.