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Clerics are the divine spellcasters of Baldur’s Gate 3, channeling the powers of the gods themselves into their magic. The choice of Domain and patron deity gives every Cleric their own flavor. What all of them share is a focus on spellcasting and the healing arts. Cleric is one of the best healing classes in the game. Its focus on support means it isn’t the easiest class to start with, but when played to its strengths, Cleric can be as powerful as it is fun. To make the most of your companions, you need to know which spells to bring and use. Here are the best Cleric spells in Baldur’s Gate 3, ranked from good to essential.
8. Shield of Faith
(Updated on October 8, 2024 – updated links and format)
Shield of Faith is a relatively simple spell. It increases its target’s AC by 2, which is pretty good for a Level 1 Abjuration spell. Having a high AC means avoiding attacks that would otherwise kill a character, so there are a number of situations it’s useful in. The most obvious is buffing your tank, making your toughest character already harder to kill since they’ll be drawing most of the aggro anyway. Alternatively, players can buff the AC of their DPS and support characters, keeping squishy Sorcerers and Bards alive long enough to do their work.
7. Healing Word
Despite being just a Level 1 Evocation spell, Healing Word is one of the best Cleric spells. The Cleric is arguably the best healer in Baldur’s Gate 3, thanks to its solid healing options and unique class traits. Healing Word only restores 4-7 HP, but it has a range of 18m. That means the Cleric can heal their injured companions from the safety of the back line, which is usually where Clerics are positioned. A few HP might not mean much by the final act, but earlier in the game, it’s a literal lifesaver.
6. Spirit Guardians
Cleric isn’t the best DPS class, but the developer nonetheless gave them a few solid options in this area. Even when playing Cleric as support, the way it’s intended, it’s nice to have an AoE spell as an emergency fallback option. Spirit Guardians is one of the best Cleric spells in that department. It deals 3-24 Radiant or 3-24 Necrotic damage per turn to enemies within 3m and halves their speed. Typically, the Cleric doesn’t want to be that close to enemies in the first place, but sometimes the enemy doesn’t give the player a choice.
5. Bestow Curse
Is Necromancy a good fit for a holy character? That depends on what they worship. Regardless, Bestow Curse and other Necromancy spells are part of the Cleric’s arsenal, so players might as well get some use out of them. Bestow Curse inflicts Disadvantage on enemy checks and Saving Throws, inflicts Disadvantage on attacks, allows the player to deal additional damage to the target, or robs it of actions. That’s a lot for one spell. Bestow Curse checks all the boxes in terms of versatility, which is why it’s one of the best Cleric spells.
4. Mass Healing Word
If Healing Word is good, Mass Healing Word must be great, right? It is. Each individual heal might only restore 4-7 points, but with the ability to heal up to six creatures simultaneously, Mass Healing Word does tremendous work. It doesn’t affect the undead or constructs, but that’s the least of the player’s concerns. This kind of multi-target ranged heal can save the entire party at once in the right circumstances. If that weren’t enough, it can be used as a Bonus Action. It’s no wonder Healing Word is one of the best Cleric spells.
3. Warding Bond
Warding Bond tries to be a little bit of everything when it comes to protective spells, and it mostly succeeds. Learning how to keep allies alive is one of the first things every player should do in Baldur’s Gate 3, and Warding Bond is a good way to do just that. The spell grants an ally Resistance to all damage. It also grants them a +1 bonus to AC and Saving Throws. That means the character will be harder to hit, more likely to resist enemy effects and take less damage even if they’re struck.
2. Guardian of Faith
Cleric isn’t a traditional pet class, but if you want to play a summoner, Baldur’s Gate 3 gives you a way to do it. Guardian of Faith is a Level 4 Conjuration spell that summons a divine guardian. The divine guardian will then immediately get to work attacking your enemies. The guardian’s major flaw is that whenever it damages an enemy, it loses an equal number of HP. Despite that unique drawback, this is still one of the best Cleric spells, especially if you’re looking for an unusual addition to your build.
1. Banishment
Ideally, the goal in combat is to kill one’s enemies or at least knock them out. Sometimes though, the most important thing is to remove them from the battlefield by any means necessary. Banishment is the spell for that, sending its target to another plane of existence for two turns. While Banished, the creature is Incapacitated, can’t be targeted, and can’t move or take any kind of action. Watching a Banished creature return to find all of its former comrades dead or Incapacitated is pretty funny, and this kind of instant enemy removal is startlingly effective. All of this easily makes Banishment one of the best Cleric spells in the game.
