Baldur’s Gate 3 (opens in new tab) is Larian’s take on Dungeons & Dragons. It’s the first Baldur’s Gate game in more than 15 years, and both PC RPGs and tabletop ones have changed a lot since Baldur’s Gate 2. Larian is using the 5th Edition of D&D, first released in 2014, but you should expect plenty of liberties in the adaptation from pen-and-paper to digital. Some things aren’t changing, though—there are real dice rolls (opens in new tab), and the character classes are straight out of D&D’s rules.
Here’s what we know so far about the classes you’ll be able to choose in Baldur’s Gate 3’s upcoming Early Access period.
Baldur’s Gate 3 classes
Larian’s previews of Baldur’s Gate 3 have shown that its initial class selection hews closely to those found in the table top game, but each class will also have at least two subclasses to choose from.
Here are the classes Larian has shown so far with their descriptions.
- Cleric – Clerics act as representatives of the gods they worship, wielding potent divine magic for good or ill.
- Fighter – Fighters have mastered the art of combat, wearing armour like a second skin and wielding weapons with unmatched skill.
- Ranger – Rangers are unparalleled scouts and trackers, honing a deep connection to nature in order to hunt their favoured prey.
- Rogue – Stealthy, skilled, and death-defying, a rogue’s versatility lets them get the upper hand in almost any situation.
- Warlock – Bound by their pact to an all-powerful patron, warlocks trade loyalty for supernatural abilities and unique magic.
- Wizard – Wizards master the arcane by specializing in individual schools of magic, honing ancient spells to modern heights.
- Druid – Druids are masters of nature magic who can transform into several kinds of animals with their Wild Shape ability.
- Barbarian – Barbarians are fierce warriors who can enter a battle rage
- Bard – Bards are a versatile class who inspire their party with words or music.
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So far during Early Access, Larian have added the Druid, Barbarian, and Bard classes to the initial six choices. More classes are expected to come throughout Early Access. “All classes from 5e Player’s Handbook will be included at launch,” Larian said in an AMA (opens in new tab).
Baldur’s Gate 3 subclasses
Okay, so those are the base classes. But what about subclasses? In Divinity: Original Sin 2, Larian heavily encouraged multiclassing, combining skills from various classes to make a highly specialized character. Here, in Early Access, you’ll be able to dive deep into classic-specific specialization with some of D&D 5e’s unique subclasses:
- Cleric – Life Domain, Light Domain, Trickery Domain
- Fighter – Battle Master, Eldritch Knight
- Ranger – Hunter, Beast Master
- Rogue – Arcane Trickster, Thief
- Warlock – The Fiend, The Great One
- Wizard – School of Evocation, School of Abjuration
- Druid – Circle of the Land, Circle of the Moon
- Barbarian – Berserker, Wildheart
- Bard – College of Lore, College of Valor
In the same AMA linked above, Larian implied all of the 5e subclasses and paths for each class will also be available in the final game. The ones above are the ones we’ve seen so far.
Gather your party with these Baldur’s Gate 3 guides
If you want to read descriptions of each of these subclasses from the D&D Player’s Handbook, here’s a handy site (opens in new tab).
What about multiclassing? That should be in the game too, but not in Early Access at launch. “Multiclassing rules will follow closely the 5e DnD. On level up characters will be able to continue with their current class or choose a new class, provided they meet the requirements,” Larian said.
In an early gameplay demo, the Baldur’s Gate 3 character creator also showed a “Class features” description for some classes like the Ranger. This is separate from subclass, but it’s unclear at this point if every class will have one or multiple “features” and what those will be. Here’s the one Larian showed in its February gameplay demo:
- Ranger – Keeper of the Veil
In addition to classes, Baldur’s Gate 3 lets you choose three more important character attributes that will shape your playthrough. You can choose your Race (opens in new tab), Origin and your Background, which will affect your story and how other characters in the game react to you.