25 Best Baldur’s Gate 3 Classes and Subclasses, Ranked

Baldur's Gate 3 is here in its fullest form, allowing players to experience its massive story, colorful characters, and rich RPG gameplay. As part of the full release, players can fully customize their character, including all classes and subclasses unavailable in early access.

Here are the 25 best Baldur's Gate 3 classes and subclasses you should check out if you want to do your best in the game. There is at least one option on here for all of the 12 available classes in the game, with the best being notable for their versatility, spells, skills, uniqueness, and more. 

1 – Oathbreaker Paladin

Playing as an Oathbreaker Paladin is a forbidden path unlike any other in the game. Though it takes time to unlock and use this class, you'll find it the best in the game. Oathbreaker Paladin strips away its servitude to the higher beings for a dark and sinister take.

You essentially become a Paladin for the Underdark, specializing in instilling fear in enemies, using Necrotic magic, and even commanding the undead for your side. There is nothing like the Oathbreaker Paladin, both from a gameplay and lore standpoint.

2 – Life Cleric

Baldur's Gate 3 is a challenging game; there's no doubt of that. At the same time, though, healing and staying alive isn't easy. But that is where the Life Cleric comes in. While all Clerics are solid at healing, the Life Domain Cleric is on a whole new level. Its recovery is the best in the game. It can heal almost anytime and use heavy armor to stay alive long enough to keep the party in the fight.

3 – Necromancy Wizard

A Necromancer Wizard dives into this forbidden school of magic and creates one of the game's most fun and wildest classes. You command the realm of the undead, raising fallen enemies to fight for you and even taking their life away to heal your own. This is by far the most potent and versatile Wizard subclass you could play as.

4 – Beast Master Ranger

Ranger isn't the same without its animals, so the Beast Master Ranger is the one most Ranger players should pick. You get to command an animal to fight alongside you in battle, which is arguably more powerful than the Wizard's familiars. It also pairs incredibly well with nearly any class for a multi-classing run, including fighting and magical classes alike.

5 – Wildheart Barbarian

Wildheart Barbarian is a Druid tank, which is as amazing as it sounds. You have all the beefy melee benefits of the Barbarian and the option to speak to animals and even choose between five animals to change your gameplay. It is there for the most thrilling melee-focused classes in the game.

6 – Way of The Open-Hand Monk

Playing as this Monk subclass pretty much changes up all of the gameplay for you. Ki is already a unique mechanic for Monk. Still, it grows with the ability to randomly generate extra commands when you attack, such as knocking enemies down or pushing them away. It gets even better as you level up, learning to heal yourself and meditate.

7 – Transmutation Wizard

It takes time to get going, but the Transmutation Wizard class is well worth the wait. Not only do you get the terrific Wizard spellbook, but you also get a focus on Alchemy and, eventually, the ability to steal the Druid's beast-shifting spell. This makes you balanced in all roles, able to fight up close as a beast or cast attacks from a distance.

8 – Circle of The Moon Druid

The most impressive and welcome part of the Druid is its shape-shifting feature. Playing as a bear or a wolf with their unique fighting techniques is already fantastic. But the Circle of the Moon subclass kicks it up a notch, focusing solely on this aspect and making it even better.

9 – Nature Cleric

Cleric continues its flexibility with this Druid-like hybrid subclass. You get the option to speak with animals, which few classes can naturally do, and there is a strong emphasis on using the elements for defensive and offensive purposes. This class only gets increasingly better the higher you level it up.

10 – The Fiend Warlock

Survivability is one of the most challenging parts of a magical user like the Warlock. Fortunately, The Fiend Warlock subclass makes up for that with its attunement to The Dark One. This blessing ensures you get extra hit points from eliminating targets and keeps you in the fight for longer alongside your already stellar spells.

11 – Eldritch Knight Fighter

Mixing magical elements with non-magic classes always makes for a solid combination, and the Eldritch Knight Fighter is one of the best examples. It is highly versatile, able to fight on the frontlines and cast spells from afar.

12 – Draconic Bloodline Sorcerer

Even if you don't pick the Dragonborn race (or even if you do), the Draconic Bloodline Sorcerer can make up for that. Not only does it change your visual appearance, but it lets you pick a dragon ancestor. This affects your resistance, enhances your armor, and gives you more health. This is the best Sorcerer at survival and the flashiest, too, especially if you run a Dragonborn Draconic Bloodline Sorcerer.

13 – Arcane Trickster Rogue

Rogue is such a fascinating mix, taking the base stealth class and adding magic on top of it. You are basically a magical assassin, in a way. You can use magical spells on top of the stealth and sneak attack techniques you already have. This alleviates much of the problem with Rogue's limited nature, as you can cast spells whenever you cannot sneak around.

14 – Circle of The Land Druid

If you want to focus more on the magical side of Druid and casting spells, Circle of the Land is the one to pick. It can far more easily recover spell slots and cast them than the other two Druid subclasses, making for a nature magic powerhouse.

15 – College of Swords Bard

Bard is a fun and unique class, but the weakest overall subclasses in the game hold it back. The one bright spot that helps the otherwise fantastic base class is the College of Swords Bard. In addition to the standard musical buffing techniques, you become a hybrid Fighter in a way. There is room for further specialization and customization in picking which type of fighting style you want.

16 – Divination Wizard

There is nothing like the Divination Wizard. If you are a fan of RNG and magic together, this is the bold class worth checking out. Able to see the future in a way, you get two dice per day that you can use to replace a roll that you don't like. You can also regain spell slots and more, making for a heavily random but fun Wizard.

17 – Thief Rogue

Thief is one of the most standard Rogue subclasses you could pick, but that isn't necessarily bad. If you prefer to get in, do your moves, and get out just as fast, this is the class. Its additional bonus action with Fast Hands means you can do so much with the already swift and agile Rogue class.

18 – Oath of The Ancients Paladin

One of the most unfortunate parts about this game is the lack of true healers outside of Cleric itself. The Oath of the Ancients Paladin is one of the few exceptions and a worthy pick. This is pretty much a tank and healer hybrid, letting you get up close and personal but also keeping your entire party alive with the incredible Healing Radiance spell.

19 – Wild Magic Barbarian

If you want one of the, literally, wildest and most unexpected classes around, Wild Magic Barbarian is for you. Barbarian is already unpredictable in its classic rage mode, but this takes it up a notch. Your more magically-inclined Barbarian warrior now gets a random magical effect each time you become enraged.

20 – Storm Sorcery Sorcerer

This Sorcerer is a bit more focused on lightning and survival. The initial Tempestuous Magic bonus action is a nice touch, letting the magic user float into the air each turn and have a better chance of surviving attacks from close-range opponents. Not to mention, it has solid elemental resistance as well.

21 – Way of The Four Elements Monk

In some ways, this is the more magical Monk subclass. How it works is that players align themselves with an elemental skill of some kind, such as Fangs of the Fire Snake, which lets you use three unarmed fire attacks against enemies near you. The versatility of these elemental skills is welcome, but it takes quite some time to benefit fully from them.

22 – War Cleric

Cleric is by far the most versatile class in the game, and War Cleric is a prime example. This is essentially your Fighter version of the Cleric, focusing more on melee weapons and your healing and offensive spells. Even more impressive is the bonus action you get, where you can be guaranteed to heal or do another action and attack in the same turn.

23 – Gloom Stalker Ranger

This is a uniquely sinister take on the Ranger class. Gloom Stalker focuses on the darker side of hunting, granting night vision and the welcome Gloom Stalker magic spells. If you want a less traditional take on this classic hunting class, this is the one to pick, as it will offer the most variety.

24 – Champion Fighter

This is by far the most stereotypical and basic Fighter class you could pick and, honestly, one of the most unassuming classes in the game. That said, there's no denying that the Champion excels at fighting. Critical hits, athletic moves, and more are here, making the battlefield the Champion's playground.

25 – Archfey Warlock

A strange mix of Warlock and fairies, this makes this magical class focused on serving a lord or lady of the Fey. As neat as that sounds, it mostly leads to middling additions upon the base Warlock, such as escape maneuvers, charms, and invoking fear upon enemies.