In a party-based RPG, you’ll want to put together a team that contains a tank to soak up damage, a DPS to deal it, and a healer to keep everyone alive. InD&D-based games such as Baldur’s Gate 3, you’ll likely want a Cleric such asShadowheartto be your healer, meaning you’ll have a variety of subclasses to choose from. To help point you in the right direction, I’ve ranked all the Cleric subclasses in BG3 below.
Best Cleric Subclasses in Baldur’s Gate 3
A Cleric’s subclass is called their Domain and is chosen at level one. There are seven cleric domains in total; Shadowheart’s, for instance, is Trickery.The best Clericsubclass will depend on how you want to play your character, as it is a very versatile class. I’ve pointed out the pros and cons of each subclass below.
Related:Baldur’s Gate 3 (BG3) Cleric guide
7. Nature Domain Cleric Subclass
As you’d expect, deciding to become a nature-focused Cleric gives you aset of spells and features that concentrate on animals and plants, such as Animal Handling, Survival, and Animal Friendship. You’ll also get heavy armor proficiency and the Nature skill, as well as the Shillelagh cantrip, which infuses a club with magical damage while also using your Spellcasting ability for attack rolls. But to be honest,you’re probably better off just choosing to be an actual Druid.
Related:Baldur’s Gate 3 – Best Cantrips & Spells List
6. Trickery Domain Cleric Subclass
As the name suggests, a Cleric with the Trickery Domain adds illusions to confuse and thievery buffs to their usual skillset. As an example, you’ll get bonus spells such as Charm Person and the ability to give stealth check bonuses to your allies.
This can be a fun subclass to play, but you’ll want to build a team around exploiting these effects. If you don’t intend to do that, any of the choices below—particularly Illusion Wizard or Rogue—will be far more useful, making this a very niche subclass.
Weaknesses
5. Knowledge Domain Cleric Subclass
The Knowledge Domain Cleric offers a unique skill set to your party while still being able to hold their own as a healer, but their bonus abilities are largely concentrated on non-combat scenarios. This can be great if you’re more about the story and setting than the battles. That said, you get a solid defensive combat move from the start, with Advanced Command offering strong crowd control. In addition, your History skill is doubled, and you have the Arcana skill that allows you to recognize magic, as well as interact with enchanted items.
Strengths
Related:Baldur’s Gate 3 Best Starting Classes – BG3 Best Beginner Classes
4. Tempest Domain Cleric Subclass
If you want to boost your damage output by harnessing the power of storms, then Tempest Cleric is the way to go.You’ll get strong lightning and thunder attacks, plus fog to hinder your enemies, all of which make great use of the BG3 combat engine. In addition, you get martial weapons proficiency and heavy armor proficiency alongside the standard cleric setup,giving you much more flexibility on the battlefield. However, this boost to melee seems counter-intuitive for what feels like a spell damage class,making it feel a bit too jack-of-all-tradesto make the top three cleric subclasses.
3. Life Domain Cleric Subclass
If you’re looking to concentrate heavily on healing, the Life subclass is a great choice. You get the unique Disciple of Life feature that adds extra HP to all of your heals (+2, plus the spell’s level), while you’ll benefit from improved versions of Cure Wounds and Bless from level 1. As you level up, you’ll get more restorative abilities such as Revivify and Aid, thusresurrecting alliesand curing diseases. Finally, you’ll benefit from having Heavy Armour proficiency alongside the usual light, medium, and shield proficiencies.
2. War Domain Cleric Subclass
If you want to double down on spellcasters or Rogues in your party, you can choose to be a War Domain Cleric andbecome a tank as well as a healer. You’ll also start with the martial weapons proficiency in addition to the standard Cleric setup, as well as the heavy armor proficiency. Thisincreases your range of weapon and armor options.
Meanwhile, the War Priest subclass feature can be employed to make a second unarmed or weapon attack on your turn, and your Shield of Faith is double strength (adding 2 AC). With the War Domain, your bonus spells will concentrate on damage output, but you’ll still be a competent healer.
1. Light Domain Cleric Subclass
I prefer my cleric to be on the backlines but also to have a little more utility, so the Light Domain Cleric comes in as my favorite choice. You getall the healing power of a cleric, with the addition of a deadly arsenal of powerful damage spells, allowing you to blast opponents from relative safety when not healing your allies.
How to build a Cleric in Baldur’s Gate 3
This comparison of subclasses was aimed to help you to choose your Domain at level 1. But if you would like to see how to build a Cleric more in-depth, you should check thisCleric guide, where we discuss level progression and the best spells.
We’ve got loads more Baldur’s Gate 3 content for you here at Pro Game Guides! For example, why not take a look atBG3 – How to Cure the Shadow CurseandBG3 – Upcasting, Explained?
