Best Sorcerer build in Baldur’s Gate 3: Race, skills, subclass & more

Sourav Banik
an image of a sorcerer in baldur's gate 3

Become a formidable spellcaster in Baldur’s Gate 3 by harnessing the power of the best Sorcerer build. Dominate every encounter with the perfect Sorcerer build in BG3, carefully crafted with the right subclass, race, and spell synergies.

With numerous spellcasting classes available, selecting the most potent one can prove challenging. Fortunately, the Sorcerer frequently emerges as the optimal choice, renowned for its spell potency and flexibility with Sorcery Points. While the Wizard or Bard serve as excellent alternatives.

However, this class is far from simple, and a real challenge lies in creating the ideal Sorcerer, especially if you want to bring down the power of magic onto your enemies, or just talk your way out of a battle. So, to help you out, here’s the best Sorcerer build in Baldurs Gate 3, complete with the ideal race, subclass, spells, and more.

Contents

Best Race to choose for a Sorcerer in Baldur’s Gate 3

an image of a halfling sorcerer in baldur's gate 3
Sorcerers are natural spellcasters in the game.

In Baldur’s Gate 3, there are three races that will go perfectly with the Sorcerer class:

  • Elf
  • Half-Elf
  • Human

We recommend choosing the High Half-Elf for the additional Fire Bolt cantrip.

Best Subclass for a Sorcerer in Baldur’s Gate 3

For a Sorcerer, the Draconic Bloodline subclass would be ideal in Baldur’s Gate 3. Your character will be granted the magic of an ancestral dragon. You can choose the ancestor according to your choice.

Remember, at Level 6, your character will be resistant to the damage type you’ve chosen.

Best Background for a Sorcerer in Baldur’s Gate 3

Among a ton of backgrounds in Baldur’s Gate 3, the best for a Sorcerer is a Sage. This will grant you proficiency in Arcana and History, two learning-based skills that are crucial for this class.

The main skills to focus on here are Arcana, Deception, and Persuasion, the three primary skills of a Sorcerer.

Best Ability Score spread for a Sorcerer

The recommended Ability Score spread for the Sorcerer is pretty good, so you don’t have to change it if you don’t want to. However, if you want to create a character from the ground up and optimize wherever you can, these are the scores to choose:

  • Strength: 8
  • Dexterity: 14
  • Constitution: 16
  • Wisdom: 12
  • Intelligence: 8
  • Charisma: 16

The primary focus is on Charisma, which is the Sorcerer’s main stat. Keeping it on an even number allows you to reach the maximum potential for other stats, you can also increase Charisma to 20 using ability score improvements. Then, focus on Constitution for that extra bonus on health. After that, it’s good to keep some good points in Dex for your AC, and Wisdom for Insight.

Best Spells for a Sorcerer in Baldur’s Gate 3

an image of a drow sorcerer in baldur's gate 3
Drows are driven to the Underdark.

The best spells for a Sorcerer in Baldur’s Gate 3 are:

  • Cantrip: Acid Splash
  • Cantrip: Bone Chill
  • Cantrip: Mage Hand
  • Cantrip: True Strike
  • Level 1: Chromatic Orb
  • Level 1: Magic Missile
  • Level 1: Ray of Sickness
  • Level 2: Darkvision
  • Level 2: Crown of Madness
  • Level 2: Hold Person
  • Level 2: Invisibility
  • Level 2: Misty Step
  • Level 3: Counterspell
  • Level 3: Fireball
  • Level 3: Fly
  • Level 4: Confusion
  • Level 4: Dimension Door
  • Level 4: Greater Invisibility
  • Level 4: Polymorph
  • Level 5: Insect Plague
  • Level 5: Hold Monster
  • Level 5: Dominate Person
  • Level 6: Disintegrate
  • Level 6: Sunbeam

Best Illithid powers for a Sorcerer

Charm

If it does get to a point where you find yourself surrounded by the enemy, Charm is a fantastic power to get hold of. It’ll basically convince the target to ignore you and attack someone else, giving you a turn to get away or take them down.

Shield of Thralls

Sorcerers may be powerful, but they’re still pretty squishy, which is where Shield of Thralls comes in. It acts much like the Shield spell, but will cost you no spell slots and will stun players when it explodes. It’s a win-win.

Freecast

Freecast is a no-brainer for any spellcasting class in Baldur’s Gate 3. It gives you the chance to cast three spells in one turn if you use quickened spell and will make your Sorcerer fantastically powerful with very little sacrifice (apart from your brain).

Best multiclass options for the Sorcerer

Sorcerer and Bard

Since the Sorcerer is a charisma-based spellcaster, it makes statistical sense to pair the class with another charisma Spellcaster. With that in mind, one of the best multiclass options for the Sorcerer is the Bard.

After all, the Sorcerer is best known for its damage capabilities along with having some great control spells. So, combine that with the amazing control spells from the bard and the increase in some fantastic skills, and you have a great addition to your original class.

Sorcerer and Warlock

The Sorcerer and Warlock work extremely well for the same reasons as the Sorcerer and Bard. They’re both Charisma-based classes and each has some particularly useful spells. The ability to manipulate your spells using Metamagic can be extremely useful for overpowered cantrips like Eldritch Blast and will undeniably change the game for your character.

Best build for a Sorcerer in Baldur’s Gate 3

Race: High Half-Elf

Skills: Deception, Perception, Persuasion

Subclass: Draconic Bloodline

Background: Sage

Ability order from highest to lowest: Charisma, Intelligence, Constitution, Dexterity, Wisdom, Strength

Best Sorcerer build:

LevelFeature
1Cantrips: Acid Splash, Bone Chill, Mage Hand, True Strike — 1st Level – Chromatic Orb, Magic Missile
2Metamagic: Distant Spell, Extended Spell — Spell: Ray of Sickness
3Metamagic: Heightened Spell — Spell: Darkvision
4Cantrip: Poison Spray — Spell: Cloud of Daggers — Ability Improvement: Charisma
5Spell: Crown of Madness
6Bend LuckSpell: Counterspell, Fireball
7Spell: Dimension Door
8Ability Improvement: Charisma to 20 — Spells: Greater Invisibility
9Spells: Dominate Person
10Metamagic: Careful Spell — Spells: Insect Plague
11Spells: Disintegrate
12Feat: Warcaster — Spells: Sunbeam

Check out some of our other Baldur’s Gate 3 guides:

Best Bard build | Best Rogue build | Best Ranger build | Best Barbarian build | Best Wizard build | Baldur’s Gate 3: What’s the max level cap? | Best Baldur’s Gate 3 classes tier list | How to revive characters in Baldur’s Gate 3 | Can you multiclass in Baldur’s Gate 3 | Baldur’s Gate 3 Soul Coins: How to get them & what they are | Baldur’s Gate 3: Fastest ways to get XP & level up | Baldur’s Gate 3: How to respec your character | Baldur’s Gate 3 Karmic Dice: What are they?

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About The Author

Sourav is a Games Writer at Dexerto, specializing in writing tips and guides for a number of games, including Apex Legends, Baldur's Gate 3, Diablo 4, Palworld, The Finals, XDefiant, and occasionally Tech. He is also passionate about esports, following games such as Valorant and Rainbow Six Siege. He previously wrote for Sportskeeda. Contact Sourav at sourav.banik@dexerto.com