The Ultimate Guide to Baldur's Gate 3 Cleric Subclasses: Unleashing Their Full Potential!

Each class in Baldur's Gate 3 possesses distinct abilities and skills that assist them in exploration and combat. The Cleric class functions as a divine spellcaster, utilizing magic in service to their deity. Each subclass of the Cleric represents a specific domain held by their god, granting the Cleric unique abilities associated with that domain.

While most classes in Baldur's Gate 3 have only three subclasses to select from, Clerics have the option to choose from seven. The domains of Life, Light, Trickery, Knowledge, Nature, Tempest, and War offer Clerics a variety of different abilities. At level one, Clerics select their subclass, which reflects the influence and power of their chosen deity's domain. The available subclasses are determined by the domains affiliated with the Cleric's selected deity, which is also chosen at level one.

Life

Updated on August 18th, 2023, by Thomas Hawkins: Following the official release, the assortment of Baldur's Gate 3 Cleric Domains has become significantly more diverse, offering a wider range of options. In addition to the domains of Life, Light, and Trickery that were available during the early access phase, the full release now includes Knowledge, Nature, Tempest, and War. This updated guide provides comprehensive information on these additional subclass choices. Moreover, as the level cap has been raised from five to twelve, this guide has also been revised to include details on the progression of the Life, Light, and Trickery Domains beyond level five.

Clerics of the Life Domain embody the quintessential image of a "Cleric" for many players. They possess formidable skills in restoring and healing, ensuring the survival and perseverance of their comrades in battle. Upon reaching level 1, they acquire the ability to wear heavy armor, granting them enhanced protection. Additionally, they obtain "Disciple of Life," where their healing spells exhibit even greater efficacy by restoring an additional 2+Spell Level HP. A practical demonstration of this is that a Cure Wounds spell at level 1 would bestow an extra 3HP of healing.

At level one, Life Domain Clerics automatically have "Cure Wounds" and "Bless" as Domain spells prepared whenever they rest. They also possess proficiency in Heavy Armor to enhance their defensive capabilities.

Moving on to level two, Life Domain Clerics acquire the "Preserve Life" ability, enabling them to restore HP equivalent to three times their Cleric Level to a nearby ally within a range of 9m. This proves to be a potent means of swiftly healing a comrade in the midst of battle, all without the need to employ a spell.

Life Domain Clerics at level three receive the domain spells "Lesser Restoration" and "Aid." These spells enable the Cleric to eliminate diseases and ailments, as well as temporarily boost the health and maximum health of allies. When reaching level five, they additionally gain "Revivify" and "Beacon of Hope" as Domain spells. With "Revivify," they can revive deceased party members, and "Beacon of Hope" maximizes healing within a specific area. Furthermore, it provides the advantage of wisdom saving throws and death saving throws.

Upon reaching level six, Life Domain Clerics acquire the "Blessed Healer" ability. This ability restores a number of hit points equal to 2 plus the spell level whenever they cast a healing spell of level one or higher. This grants them increased resilience in prolonged battles, allowing them to evade death and provide their allies with enhanced endurance.

At level seven, additional domain spells are unlocked: "Death Ward" and "Guardian of Faith." The former ensures that when the spell is active, the target will be restored to one hit point if they would have lost all their hit points. The latter allows the summoning of a stationary guardian spirit that attacks enemies entering its range.

Upon reaching level eight, the Cleric acquires the skill "Divine Strike: Life." This enables them to infuse their weapon with radiant damage and make a single attack as an action. This ability proves highly valuable in boosting the Cleric's damage, particularly when facing undead or fiend foes, as they are typically susceptible to radiant damage.

Finally, Life Domain Clerics at level nine acquire two powerful domain spells: "Mass Cure Wounds" and "Greater Restoration". With these spells, they possess the ability to simultaneously restore the health of up to six creatures and eliminate a multitude of negative effects merely by touching their target.

Light

Gods of Justice and Fire often bestow the Light domain, empowering their clerics with the ability to banish darkness and obliterate undead creatures. At the first level, a Light Domain Cleric gains the proficiency known as "Warding Flare." This powerful skill grants the cleric the capability to impose disadvantage on a forthcoming attack as a reaction. Although the usage of this ability is limited to once per turn, it provides the Cleric with the opportunity to potentially evade a perilous attack every round.

At level one, Light Domain Clerics acquire the "Light" Cantrip as an added Cantrip, and gain the Domain Spells "Faerie Fire" and "Burning Hands".

Upon reaching level two, Light Domain Clerics obtain the "Radiance of the Dawn" ability. This grants them the power to eliminate magical darkness and inflict radiant damage upon all foes within a 9-foot range as a single Action. This ability proves advantageous as non-magical methods are ineffective against magical darkness, while the radiant damage offers an exceptional advantage.

At level three, Light Domain Clerics gain access to the spells "Flaming Sphere" and "Scorching Ray" as part of their Domain, providing them with versatile options to inflict fire damage on individual targets or large groups. These spells also allow them to exploit flammable environmental hazards such as Grease. Additionally, at level five, Light Domain Clerics acquire the spells "Daylight" and "Fireball" as Domain spells. Fireball is self-explanatory and possesses significant combat potential, while Daylight enables the Cleric to enchant an object or create a sphere of sunlight, emitting light that dispels darkness. Moreover, Daylight can inflict 20 damage per turn on a vampire enemy that players might encounter in their adventure.

At level six, Light Domain Clerics gain the ability "Improved Warding Flare," which empowers them to use their reaction to impose disadvantage on an enemy's attack against an ally. This shouldn't be underestimated as it greatly enhances the party's chances in combat and safeguards them from particularly perilous assaults.

At level seven, Clerics gain access to the spells "Wall of Fire" and "Guardian of Faith" in their domain, allowing them to create walls of flame that cause damage and summon a spirit guardian to attack enemies within its range.

For Light Domain Clerics at level eight, they obtain the ability "Potent Spellcasting," which adds their wisdom modifier to the damage dealt by Cleric cantrips. This enhancement greatly boosts their power and effectiveness. Additionally, at level nine, Light Domain Clerics acquire the domain spells "Flame Strike" and "Destructive Wave." These spells provide the Clerics with even more methods to smite either individual targets or entire groups. The latter spell inflicts both thunder and radiant damage, offering a valuable and much-needed variety of damage to deal with enemies resistant to fire.

Trickery

The Trickery Domain offers abilities in illusion and deception, bestowed by chaotic and mischievous deities. At the first level, Trickery Domain Clerics acquire the "Blessing of the Trickster," enabling them to bestow advantage on a creature within a range of 1.5 meters for stealth checks until the Cleric loses focus. This ability pairs excellently with a rogue, allowing them to easily scout ahead or maneuver out of combat for a sneak attack setup.

Additionally, at the first level, Trickery Domain Clerics gain "Charm Person" and "Disguise Self" as Domain Spells. The former grants them advantage on skill checks in dialogue situations or the ability to prevent a target from attacking in combat. The latter enables them to alter their appearance to deceive NPCs and exploit specific race-exclusive dialogue options. For example, interacting with Githyanki, notoriously challenging for any other race due to their strong superiority complex.

Trickery Domain Clerics at level two can use "Invoke Duplicity" to create an illusion that grants the party an advantage when attacking enemies within the Illusions AOE, provided the attacker is also inside the AOE. This ability, along with Blessing of the Trickster, is especially effective when paired with Rogues and their sneak attacks.

Upon reaching level three, Trickery Domain Clerics gain access to "Mirror Image" and "Pass Without Trace" as Domain Spells. These spells enable them to enhance their defense with illusory clones and provide the entire party with a +10 bonus to their stealth checks. At this stage, the Trickery Domain becomes highly valuable in helping the party avoid detection, making it an excellent choice for a support caster both in and out of combat.

At level five, Trickery Domain Clerics gain the abilities "Bestow Curse" and "Fear" as their Domain Spells. With the former, they can place a wide range of curses on others through physical contact, while the latter allows them to induce fear in their enemies, causing them to drop objects they are holding and flee.

When reaching the seventh level, Trickery Domain Clerics acquire the spells "Polymorph" and "Dimension Door" as part of their Domain Spells. This enables them to transform adversaries into harmless sheep and teleport, taking a companion along with them. Furthermore, at level eight, they obtain the power of "Divine Strike: Poison," which allows them to enhance their weapon with additional poison damage and strike their target with a single action.

At level nine, Trickery Clerics get the Domain Spells "Dominate Person" and "Seeming," allowing them to turn foes against each other and disguise the entire party with ease.

Knowledge

The Cleric within the Knowledge Domain is bestowed with a multitude of abilities that align with the values of their divine patron, emphasizing the importance of knowledge. As their journey commences at level one, the Cleric gains the privilege of choosing two additional skill proficiencies from among the following four options: History, Arcana, Religion, or Nature. Moreover, they are granted access to the esteemed domain spells of "Command" and "Sleep," empowering them to implant a command within a target's psyche or lull individuals into a state of slumber.

Level two grants the ability called "Knowledge of the Ages," which enables the character to select a statistic and gain expertise in all skills associated with it by utilizing an action and consuming a "Channel Divinity" charge. This feature allows for adaptability in challenging scenarios and contributes to the character's versatility.

Upon reaching level three, the Cleric acquires two Domain Spells, namely "Calm Emotions" and "Hold Person." These spells grant the ability to dispel fear and charm effects, eliminate the Barbarian Rage, and immobilize humanoid adversaries. Subsequently, at level five, the Cleric gains access to the Domain spells "Speak with Dead" and "Slow." This addition permits the gathering of further insights from deceased creatures and the imposition of a potent "slowed" condition on foes, thereby diminishing their abilities.

At level seven, the Cleric's Domain Spells at Level seven introduces "Confusion" and "Otiluke's Resilient Sphere." This enables the Cleric to confuse multiple creatures or encase a target securely within an impenetrable sphere. Upon reaching level eight, the Cleric gains "Potent Spellcasting," incorporating their Wisdom Modifier to enhance their cantrip's damage rolls.

Reaching level nine, the Knowledge Domain concludes its spell list by including "Dominate Person" and "Telekinesis." This empowers the Cleric to sway humanoid adversaries to their side and manipulate creatures and objects through the power of their mind.

Nature

The Nature Domain grants Clerics abilities that are well-suited for those who harness the power of the natural world, drawing similarities to the Druid class. These abilities begin at level one with the Domain Spells "Speak with Animals" and "Animal Friendship," enabling them to effectively communicate with animals and prevent them from attacking.

Additionally, at level one, they acquire the cantrip "Shillelagh," which allows them to utilize their wisdom modifier for attack and damage rolls when using a staff or club. They also obtain the ability "Acolyte of Nature," granting them the choice to learn a Druid Cantrip and gain proficiency in Animal Handling, Nature, or Survival. At level two, they acquire "Charm Animals," which enables them to utilize a charge of "Channel Divinity" to charm nearby beasts and plants.

At level three, the Cleric's Domain Spells include "Spike Growth" and "Barkskin." These spells enable the Cleric to transform an area's ground into challenging terrain filled with sharp spikes, as well as strengthen the target's skin to enhance their Armor Class, boosting it to 16.

At level five, the Cleric acquires "Plant Growth" and "Sleet Storm." These spells grant the ability to create weed-covered patches that impede the movement of adversaries and conjure ice storms that disrupt spellcasters, create obstacles, and hinder movement. Additionally, the ice storm can be useful for extinguishing fires when necessary.

Moving on to level seven, the Cleric obtains "Dominate Beast" and "Grasping Vine" as Domain Spells. These spells allow the Cleric to sway hostile beasts to become allies and summon a grasping vine capable of dragging foes and causing damage to them.

Tempest

At level eight, the Cleric gains the ability called "Divine Strike: Elemental Fury." This grants the Cleric the power to infuse their weapon with additional cold, fire, or lightning damage before they strike, which can be done as an action. Upon reaching level nine, the Cleric acquires two spells: "Insect Plague" and "Wall of Stone." These spells provide the Cleric with a formidable area attack that creates challenging terrain and weakens adversaries, as well as the ability to erect a wall of stone to impede approaching enemies.

The Tempest Domain is bestowed upon individuals by divine beings who hold dominion over storms and the skies. At first level, they acquire "Wrath of the Storm," which enables them to utilize their reaction to unleash lightning damage upon an assailant. In the event that said attacker fails their saving throw against "Wrath of the Storm," they also incur a measure of thunder damage. Additionally, these clerics gain proficiency in heavy armor and martial weapons, equipping them to engage foes in close proximity and assume a frontline combatant role not typically seen among other members of their class.

At level one, the Tempest Domain grants the domain spells "Thunderwave" and "Fog Cloud." This allows them to unleash thunder damage on a line of enemies and create a fog that blinds their foes.

At level two, the Tempest Cleric gains "Destructive Wrath." This ability lets them use their reaction and a Channel Divinity charge to maximize the damage of a spell that deals thunder or lightning damage. It ensures that their attacks hit with maximum force when it counts the most.

At level three, Tempest Clerics receive the Domain Spells "Shatter" and "Gust of Wind." With these spells, they can unleash a powerful burst of area-of-effect thunder damage and blow away enemies with strong gusts of wind.

Level five brings the spells "Call Lightning" and "Sleet Storm." This allows them to summon lightning blasts that can be cast up to 10 times for free and create a formidable ice storm that can disrupt the concentration of enemy spellcasters.

At level six, Tempest Clerics gain the ability to use "Thunderous Strike," which enables them to push back enemies of large or smaller size up to 3m after landing a thunder or lightning attack.

By level seven, Tempest Clerics acquire two new spells: "Ice Storm" and "Freedom of Movement." These spells allow them to summon a powerful hailstorm and grant immunity to movement hindrances caused by difficult terrain, spells, or water.

Reaching level eight, the Cleric masters "Divine Strike: Tempest," which enhances their attacks with thunder damage. Completing their Domain Spell list at level nine, they gain access to "Insect Plague" and "Destructive Wave." With these spells, they can create a damaging swarm of stinging insects to hinder their enemies and unleash a devastating combination of thunder and radiant damage, capable of knocking foes prone.

War

The gods of warfare grant the War Domain, which includes the ability "War Priest." This allows the Cleric to expend "War Priest" charges in order to make an additional attack each turn, making it the ideal choice for a Cleric focused on weapon usage. Initially, the Cleric possesses three "War Priest" charges at level one. Additionally, the War Domain provides proficiency in heavy armor and martial weapons to further facilitate direct combat.

At level two, the War Domain bestows "Guided Strike," enabling the Cleric to augment their attack roll by +10 through the expenditure of a charge of Channel Divinity. Furthermore, at level three, they gain access to the spells "Magic Weapon" and "Spiritual Weapon." The former allows them to enchant a weapon with magic, transforming it into a +1 weapon. The latter permits them to conjure a floating weapon to aid in combat, and can be cast as a bonus action, making it a convenient choice for any encounter.

At level five, War Clerics in the War Domain acquire the abilities "Spirit Guardians" and "Crusader's Mantle." These powers enable them to harm enemies in their vicinity by inflicting radiant or necrotic damage while also slowing their movement. Additionally, War Clerics can emit an energy aura that empowers nearby allies, granting them additional radiant damage on their weapon attacks.

Upon reaching level six, War Clerics gain the ability "Channel Divinity: War God's Blessing." With this skill, they can utilize a Channel Divinity charge to bestow a +10 bonus to the attack roll of a nearby ally.

At level seven, War Clerics receive the Domain Spells "Stoneskin" and "Freedom of Movement." These spells enable War Clerics to grant a creature resistance to non-magical piercing, bludgeoning, and slashing damage, as well as immunity to movement hindrances caused by any source.

At level eight, War Clerics gain the ability called "Divine Strike: Warmaster," enabling them to enhance their attacks with additional slashing damage. At level nine, their Domain Spells are completed with the inclusion of "Flame Strike" and "Hold Monster." These spells grant them the capability to unleash a potent, focused assault of radiant and fire damage while also immobilizing a creature. Baldur's Gate 3 is currently accessible for PC and Mac, with its release scheduled for the 6th of September 2023 on PS5.