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Turns out the slimy, wriggly, and fleshy tadpole in your brain is a gift that keeps on giving in Baldur’s Gate 3. You just have to let it squirt and slobber its tentacled mucous between the squishy crevices of your lobes. A small price to pay for the ability to transcend your primitive humanoid form. Okay fine, it’s terrible; the first thing you lose is your smooth skin. But if you’re sacrificing that much, you might as well pick the best Illithid Powers in BG3— applicable for all classes. They make the sickly facial varicose veins worth it.
Psionic Dominance
It’s a free Counterspell, and even non-spellcaster classes have access to it. If anything, it allows you to just disable that one pesky spell that could derail or kill your whole party. About as elegant as Counterspelling in Magic the Gathering, and also as satisfactory.
Like Counterspell, it even lets you see the actual spell you want to be nullified before you expend this particularly handy utility power. In fact, you can even nullify an enemy Counterspell so it also works great for spellcasters as they can save their actual Counterspell for later.
Psionic Backlash
Psionic Backlash isn’t as useful as Psionic Dominance when it comes to overall tactics. Still, it’s a comfortable and incremental way to punish enemy spell snipers, especially those nesting in elevated spots.
It also scales well into Act 3, since damage depends on the spellcaster’s spell level, and you can even kill spellcasters with this. The enemy A.I. usually doesn’t know or care if you have it so they’ll just keep making the same mistakes.
Illithid Expertise
Not all of the best Illithid Powers in BG3 are for combat. Some can let you avoid combat or whole enemy camps entirely. Illithid Expertise is one of those and it’s a fun method to smooth talk your way to the ending (mostly).
Because even if your character is already proficient in Persuasion, Deception, and Intimidation, you can then respec and pick other skills. And of course, it somehow lends your Orc Barbarian the Machiavellian eloquence to lie to their foes before cleaving them in half. Lots of options here.
Luck of the Far Realms
Paladin mains probably frothed at the mouth upon seeing this. It’s among the top Illithid Powers in BG3 for them. Luck of the Far Realms effectively doubles their Smite damage (if it didn’t crit), it’s an opportunistic snowball effect of their god’s fury that lets them kill bosses in one turn.
But what about other classes? Well, it still works– albeit with a less grand explosion of giblets and red mist. Even spellcasters can find a good use for this with spells like Scorching Ray (which counts as an Attack Roll), and sneaky ones can use it to take out the biggest threat before the fight even begins in an ambush.
Mind Blast
You also get a taste of that annoying Mindflayer attack that stuns your whole party, only, you’re on the safer end. Mind Blast not only deals decent damage but also can Stun anyone who isn’t patient enough for High School Algebra, meaning pure Strength or Dexterity classes.
That includes your allies, so you will need to be careful with this Illithid Power in BG3. Nevertheless, it’s great for dealing with a swarm of melee enemies or turning the tide. Quite a nice clutch move for any class.
Repulsor
This is one of the best Illithid Powers in BG3 that you never know you need until you’re surrounded, which can happen often. For melee fighters, you can use it tactically to push multiple enemies to their deaths.
Meanwhile, for ranged classes and spellcasters, it’s a commendable survival tool that lets them escape Opportunity Attacks or just run away from a vulnerable spot. You can even use it often or per combat encounter if you want thanks to the Short Rest cooldown.
Black Hole
Lets you summon not just one, but several Black Holes per long rest. That’s a lot of holes and your enemies aren’t going to appreciate it when paired with a Fireball. If they’re Slowed, that also means they take more damage and are easier to hit.
Even melee classes can make good use of this to disable some faraway threat clusters or to keep certain enemies stuck in a spot while they mow down other targets. The Illithid Power’s generous cooldown also makes this one a reliable crowd-control spell.
Stage Fright
Look at that, savor it. It’s one of the prettiest combinations of words and numbers in an Illithid Power description. You don’t get hit and enemies hurt themselves when they miss, also a Short Rest cooldown? It almost sounds too unfair.
Of course, for high AC (Armor Class) classes, this is golden. Three turns of enemies succumbing to Psychic damage if you’re lucky. But even for ranged and spellcaster classes with lower AC, it’s a nice survivability tool.
Freecast
At some point, you have to question whether you’re reading this right. Because it sounds too good to be true. But it’s real and it’s busted. Freecast makes anyone a cheater for one turn, it’s a Haste spell but better since there is no almost negative side-effect.
Consequently, it’s also one of the glitchiest Illithid Powers in BG3— it used to break the game quite literally. Regardless, if you see this one become available or if you want to work towards it, go for it. Pair it with ambushes, or even with a Haste spell, your enemies don’t deserve a turn.
Fly
While Freecast is something you can mostly enjoy just in combat, Fly is good for everything. Just imagine what a whole party can do if they can fly on demand. Enemy positioning is almost meaningless, obstacles are cakewalks, and those legs are no longer of use.
For more specific uses, spellcasters can reposition in higher areas without expending spell slots, ranged characters can hide, and melee characters no longer have to worry about distance. Who needs the Crown of Karsus when you can fly like a god?
