The clerical subclass in Baldur’s Gate 3 Is The least popular choice among players for their custom characters. This could stem from the class having a somewhat unfounded reputation for being a purely support role, or from the fact that one of the earliest companions the player can unlock is already a cleric. And Shadowheart, the omniscient follower of Shaar, provides a very poor example of how effective a cleric can be. This largely stems from the subclass that Shadowheart uses by default: the Field of Trickery.
Cleric subclasses are super important in determining their power. They add extra spells to the cleric list, provide ways to use the cleric’s channel divinity feature, and include certain weapon and armor proficiencies that allow extra gear to be used. And Clerics get seven subclass options right at level oneMaking them one of the more versatile classes in this regard. To create an effective cleric that is fun to play, players should consider the strengths and weaknesses of the options and choose between the best.
Three standout choices among the cleric subclasses
While the other four domains are interesting, their abilities do not stack
Of the seven subclasses, three reign as the most effective and powerful for what they provide. These are the domains of life, light and stormWhich outperforms the other four on basically every level. The Knowledge, Behavior, Trickery, and War domains have their strengths, for the most part, but ultimately lack the damage output and support capabilities of the first three options.
The knowledge field gets some extra skills and even some expertise, as well as a few powerful spells on their expanded list, but ultimately not much to make them stand out in or out of combat. The nature field gets some druid abilities and spells, but their channel divinity feature “charm animals and plants” leaves a lot to be desired, and a druid multiclass seems like a better option. The trickery field gets a collection of niche spells and subpar abilities That disappoints at every turn.
The war subclass tries to make the cleric more of a martial character, which ultimately works against him.
As for the battlefield cleric, there is a little more going for him than the others. It gets some use from a bonus action attack, a channel divinity to help their attacks hit, and all the armor and weapon proficiency they could want. The problem is that the war subclass tries to make the cleric more of a martial character, which ultimately works against it, as it has some of the most powerful spellcasting in the entire game. The war cleric works best when multiclassed with a martial classBut then, that takes away from his spellcasting.
The best Cleric subclass supplements their superb spell list
The best spell list in the game gets even better
One of the strengths of Cleric as a whole is its selection of amazing spells, from cantrips like Guidance
To buffs like bless
To meet destroyers like Spirit guardians
. Their list is unmatched, and so many of the missing or repeated spells on the subclass expanded lists don’t feel like too much of a hindrance. Still, the three best subclasses make some really great options permanently available.
The light and storm clerics in particular gain some powerful spells. With AOEs like Fireball and Wall of fire
The Light Cleric can deal out tons of damage at a long range. And the storm cleric gets access to spells that deal thunder and lightning damage, such as summon lightning and Destructive wave
Who make the most out of their incredible Channel Divinity feature. Cleric’s spells can struggle to churn out high damage at long range, however These subclasses are some of the best damage dealers in Baldur’s Gate 3.
The cleric of life is an exception here. His spell list includes any spells not already available to clerics. Like, generally. But it makes certain buff and support spells, like aid and mass heal wounds, always prepared. That way, they can experiment with some of the other powerful cleric spells available to them while always having their go-to buffs on hand. This is certainly a weak point of the subclass when compared to the first two, which get unique spells, but it plays into the life cleric flavor of doubling down on what the cleric is known for.
Channel Divinity features are the core parts of each subclass
Make the most of this cleric-specific resource
Clerics gain a unique ability called “channel divinity,” which they can use to turn nearby undead or activate a subclass-specific power. These powers can be used once, and later twice, per short rest, and their strength and utility is a large part of what determines a cleric’s usefulness. Especially when considering the possibility of multiclassing, Channel Divinity is an early-level feature that hybrid class characters can use.
Some of the weaker four subclasses demonstrate what a bad channel deity looks like. The Cleric Cleric gets one called Invoke Duplicity, which conjures an illusory clone of the cleric that gives nearby creatures advantage on attack rolls. The problem with this is that The clone only has one hit point and tends to draw enemy raidsSo players would be lucky to get even one turn with this thing active. Plus, it requires concentration, something none of the other channel deities do.
All three of the top cleric subclasses have amazing channel divinity options. The Life Cleric gets an action heal that restores a lot of hit points in a large area and benefits from their other heal-buffing abilities. The Light Cleric gets a radiant AOE that deals moderate damage and goes through cover, making it a great damaging choice early on. And The storm cleric gets the ability to maximize the damage of their thunder and lightning spells for no action costMaking spells like Shatter
Super strong early in the game.
Additional subclass features lend themselves to different playstyles
Clerics are for more than healing
With access to spells like Heal wounds
And Healing word
Clerics have a reputation for being a class that only heals and supports the party. And although subclasses like life play into this, the cleric is one of the most versatile characters to take on different roles in the party. The various passive features that its subclasses provide allow the Cleric to excel as a damage dealer, arena controller, support buffer, and many other things.
but as said, The Life Cleric is probably where the perception of the class as a healer comes from. It heals itself when it heals its allies, provides extra points of healing through its spells, and most of the options on its spell list are either for healing or buffing allies’ defensive abilities. This puts the cleric pretty firmly in a support role, but it’s the best at keeping parties alive, and a great choice for companions in the game, like Shadowheart.
The storm and light clerics are much more at dealing damage, and excel at taking out clusters of enemies with certain damage types. The light cleric accomplishes this through his channel divinity and spells, while his additional features use bursts of light to deflect enemy attacks. The storm cleric is heavy on damage and battlefield control with lightning and thunder spells, a feature that deals damage to attackers, and The ability to knock people back with their magic.
Which cleric subclass can claim to be the strongest?
Ranking the best of the best
All three of these options are powerful and will destroy even the toughest of encounters Baldur’s Gate 3However The life and storm domains have a bit of an edge over the light field cleric. This is simply because they have additional weapon and armor proficiencies, and because they receive some additional elemental damage from their melee attacks. The light cleric gets extra cantrip damage, which is worse, since The damaging cantrip spells that the cleric gets aren’t great.
Between the top two, they really can’t be compared at this point, because it depends on what players want from their cleric. If they want a team member who can ensure the survival of the group and provide all kinds of healing, the Life Cleric is unmatched. If they want to make the most of the cleric’s damaging options and become a tanky blaster in Baldur’s Gate 3The storm field is the way to go.