Baldur’s Gate 3 Best Cleric class build – race, subclass, BG3 skills

Do you need help creating a strong Cleric build in Baldur’s Gate 3? Clerics are a devastating force to be reckoned with whether they are a part of the Life Domain, Trickery Domain, or any of the other domains. This is because of their deadly combination of strength, health, and healing abilities.

There are plenty of races and classes to choose from in Baldur’s Gate 3. Different combinations with also help you create the best Baldur’s Gate 3 Monk build and even the best Baldur’s Gate 3 Warlock build. Each Cleric Domain excels with different class features and abilities.

There is a reason that when it comes to the Baldur’s Gate 3 classes and subclasses tier list, Cleric is at the top. Thanks to their versatility, Clerics can match different playstyles. The best Cleric, however, takes advantage of the proficiencies and abilities that can hit foes hard.

Baldur’s Gate 3 Best Cleric Build

Cleric is a great class for those who want to be the tank and be an imposing force in combat. This class excels at taking damage and using their weapons to strike back hard at their enemies.

As a cleric, you have the following proficiencies:

• Armor Proficiency  – Light Armor, Medium Armor, Heavy Armor
• Weapon Proficiency – Simple weapons, Morningstars, Martial weapons, Spears, Pikes, Halberds, Glaives
• Skill Proficiency – History, Insight, Persuasion, Medicine, Religion
• Saving Throw Proficiency – Charisma & Wisdom

Best Cleric Race in Baldur’s Gate 3

When it comes to the Cleric class, there are multiple races that work well. Mostly, you want tougher races that have brutal racial bonuses or helpful spells.

• Gold Dwarf – Gold Dwarves begin the game with Dwarven Toughness which grants them additional health each time they level up. Great for those who want to have some extra hit points.
• High Elf/ High Half-Elf – The High Elf race gets a cantrip to start with that you can use to add to your spell list.
• Half-Orc – Thanks to the Savage Attacks racial feat, Half-Orcs can deal a lot of damage when they get critical hits.
• Mephistopheles Tiefling – This Tiefling subrace gets additional spells such as Burning Hands and Flame Blade, allowing them to deal more damage to enemies.

Background for Cleric

Here are the best backgrounds for the Cleric class:

• Acolyte – Grants proficiency with Insight and Religion.
• Noble – Grants proficiency with History and Persuasion.
• Guild Artisan – Grants proficiency with Insight and Persuasion.

Equipment for Cleric

Here are some of the best Cleric weapons, armor pieces, and accessories:

• Armor of Persistence – 20AC, Reduces all incoming damage, grants resistance to Blade Ward.
• Reaper’s Embrace – 19AC, Grants the Howl of the Dead spell, cannot be moved against your will while Reaper’s Rigidity is active, reduces all incoming damage.
• Plate Armor +2 – 20AC, Take 2 less damage Slashing, Piercing, and Bludgeoning sources.
• Shield of Devotion – +2 AC, Grants you the Aid spell, gives you an additional level one spell slot.
• Viconia’s Walking Fortress – +3 AC, Grants the Rebuke of the Mighty action, Reflective spell action, and Warding Bond spell.
• Cloak of Protection – Increases your armor class and saving throws.
• Gloves of Beligerent Skies – When you deal Thunder damage, Lightning damage, or Radiant damage, you inflict Reverberation.
• Gauntlets of Hill Giant Strength – Increases your Strength score to 23.
• The Blood of Lathandar – Once per long rest, when your hit points drop to zero, you regain health and all allies within nine meters regain some health. Grants the Sunbeam spell.
• Selune’s Speak of Night – Grants advantage on Wisdom saving throws and perception checks. Grants the Moonbeam spell as well as the Moonmote class action.

Baldur’s Gate 3 Cleric Ability Scores

We used different ability score values than the ones that Baldur’s Gate 3 traditionally gives you. This is because some stats can be used as dump stats to better other ones, making you stronger in the process.

Ability	Score
Strength (Str)	16
Dexterity (Dex)	11
Constitution (Con)	12
Intelligence (Int)	8
Wisdom (Wis)	17
Charisma (Cha)	10

These ability score values can change depending on the Cleric Domain that you choose. For instance, more talkative people may want to increase their Charisma score instead of their Constitution. These are the scores that we found to be the most optimal.

Baldur’s Gate 3 Best Cleric Subclass

There are a lot of different subclasses or Domains to choose from for the Cleric in Baldur’s Gate 3. The following Domains are in the game:

• Life Domain
• Light Domain
• Trickery Domain
• Knowledge Domain
• Nature Domain
• Tempest Domain
• War Domain

If you want the strongest of build for your Cleric, consider going with the Tempest Domain. This Domain has the following abilities:

• Domain Spells (Thunderwave, Fog Cloud)
• Heavy Armor Proficiency
• Martial Weapon Proficiency
• Wrath of the Storm
• Destructive Wrath
• Domain Spells (Shatter, Gust of Wind)
• Domain Spells (Call Lightning, Sleet Storm)
• Thunderous Strike
• Domain Spells (Ice Storm, Freedom of Movement)
• Divine Strike: Thunder
• Domain Spells (Insect Plague, Destructive Wave)

Best Cleric Feats in Baldur’s Gate 3

These are the best Feats for the Cleric class:

• Ability Score Improvement – Raise one or two of your ability scores.
• Durable – Increase your Constitution. Get all of your hit points back on a short rest.
• Elemental Adept – Spells ignore the resistance of the chosen element.
• Shield Master – Increases your Dexterity saving throws while wielding a shield. You can use a reaction to diminish the effects if a spell forces you to make a Dexterity saving throw.
• Tough – Your hit point maximum increases by two per level you have gained.

Baldur’s Gate 3 Best Cleric build explained – Tempest Domain

The Tempest Domain will grant you the ability to manipulate storms and deal immense damage if you know what you are doing. Here is a breakdown on how to build a Tempest Cleric:

Level 1 – 4

Within the first four levels, you will choose your cantrips, get some extra spells, and learn the Wrath of the Storm and Destructive Wrath abilities. Starting with the spells, these are great spells to choose during the first four levels:

• Cantrips – Resistance, Blade Ward, Guidance, Sacred Flame
• 1st level spells – Cure Wounds, Healing Word, Inflict Wounds, Create or Destroy Water, Guiding Bolt
• 2nd level spells – Spiritual Weapon, Prayer of Healing, Aid, Hold Person

When it comes to gaining your first Feat, you will want to start with the Ability Score Improvement. This can help you raise your strength to increase your damage or you can take the opportunity to buff your Constitution and raise your health slightly.

Level 5 – 8

During levels five through eight, you will unlock the additional Domain spells and get the Thunderous Strike and Divine Strike abilities. During this time, the build will start to come together because you will have started to gather some of the better armor and weapons in the game. Be sure to have a strong mix of damage-dealing spells and healing spells to aid your party in any situation.

During these levels, you will want to take the following spells:

• 3rd level spells – Spirit Guardians, Revivify, Mass Healing Word
• 4th level spells – Guardian of Faith

If you decided to go the weapons and shield route for your character, you should consider taking the Shield Feat during this time. If not, you can Elemental Adept will drastically increase your damage as long as you choose lightning as the damage type.

Level 9 – 12

Within the final four levels, you will get more Domain spells as well as additional spell slots. This is also the time when you will get your 5th and 6th level spells. The following spells are good to take during these levels:

• 5th level spells – Mass Cure Wounds, Flame Strike
• 6th level spells – Harm

If you are devoted to healing, you can take the Heal spell during this time, but the other healing spells that you have should be more than enough for the fights going forward. For your final feat, we suggest taking Tough. This will skyrocket your health and should place it near 100, allowing you to tank many of the hits from the final battles with ease.

Is the Cleric a good class in Baldur’s Gate 3?

Yes! The Cleric is a very powerful class that can easily deal damage to multiple enemies and tank damage from tougher foes when built correctly.

What is the best Cleric Domain in Baldur’s Gate 3?

The best Cleric Domain is the Tempest Domain. This is thanks to its great mix of healing abilities and damage-dealing spells.