Best Cantrips in Baldur’s Gate 3 (BG3)
Much like DND 5e, Cantrips in Baldur’s Gate 3 are fairly simplistic Spells that operate on a weaker level than those cast through the use of a Spell Slot. However, the upside to using Cantirps is that they don’t require any Spell Slots to use, allowing you to make the most of them on every turn of combat if you wish. Cantrips are a very important part of not only combat, but also exploration, investigation, improving Stat Checks, and enabling useful bonuses for your party. To help you make the best selection for your Magic user, we’ve listed the best Cantrips to consider in Baldur’s Gate 3.
Best Overall Cantrips in Baldur’s Gate 3, Explained
Baldur’s Gate 3 has over twenty different Cantrips available to the various Magic user Classes, with each one providing an attack, unique benefit, or Advantage for yourself and your party in combat or while exploring the lands and encountering new individuals. In no particular order, here’s an explanation of the best Cantrips available in-game to assist with yourMagic usercharacter build. These Cantrips should fit nicely into most Magic builds, so feel free to experiment with your options until you find which ones best suit your character and playstyle.
Shocking Grasp
Shocking Grasp is a very useful Cantrip to keep in your back pocket. Not only will it allow you to deal some Lightning damage to enemies in a pinch when you’re out of Spell Slots, but more importantly, it will block the target from being able to use reactions for one turn.
Being singled out and targeted by strength-based enemies and tanky opponents as a more squishy class can be quite intimidating, and thankfully, Shocking Grasp is essentially a get-out-of-jail-free card. Simply cast the Cantrip, and then run the hell away out of Melee range — without the ability to use reactions, the opponent won’t be able to hit you with an Opportunity Attack on your way out. Plus, it even grants Advantage for your roll on creatures wearing metal armor, which tend to be those pesky Melee classes that you may struggle against.
Sacred Flame
Sacred Flame is a must-pick for your Cleric character, making the perfect Cantrip to fall back on when in need. Unlike other ranged Cantrips and Spells, Sacred Flame manifests on the spot rather than being cast from the user’s hand, meaning you can attack without a line of sight to your target. On top of this, it targets a Dex, which is a weak spot for many of the bulkier classes and enemies in BG3.
Poison Spray
Not only does Poison Spray have one of the highest damage dice for a Cantrip, but it also grants a disadvantage on the target’s next attack role. The more you progress through the Baldur’s Gate 3 story, the more you will begin to notice how crucial it is to grant yourself Advantage and inflict Disadvantage on your enemies as often as possible, making it a very valuable option for you to have on a turn-by-turn basis.
Vicious Mockery
Much like Poison Spray, Vicious Mockery offers two benefits, dealing 1d4 damage and inflicting Disadvantage on the target’s next attack when casted with success. While Vicious Mockery does much less damage than Poison Spray’s 1d12, it offer a much larger casting range of 18m in comparison to the former’s 3m limit.
Vicious Mockery also targets Wisdom for the target’s Saving Throw rather than Constitution, with both Cantrips evening out each other’s strengths and weaknesses. When deciding which one to go with, it all comes down to personal preference and what you believe will best suit your playstyle.
Guidance is a very reliable tool to keep up your sleeve, allowing you to cast before any eligible Ability Checks to add a bonus +1d4 to the outcome number for whichever character is rolling the check. Once activated, players will be granted this bonus +1d4 for any Ability Checks for up to ten turns, as long as Concentration is maintained by the caster. If you have an important Skill Check that you do not want to fail, Guidance can save you that stress by bumping your roll up a few numbers for extra safety.
Eldritch Blast
Eldritch Blast is a classic forthe Warlock class, providing you with a reliable ranged attack option without any cost to your precious Spell Slots. Furthermore, at higher levels, Eldritch Blast becomes even more devastating, with the potential to gain a bonus pushback effect at level 2, and an additional blast at level 5, allowing for a more devastating blow of damage upon a hit. This Cantrip also pairs very nicely with the rest of the Warlock’s kit, making it a must-grab for this Class.
Fire Bolt is another reliable Cantrip for many Magic users, dealing a reliable 1d10 Fire damage upon a hit. Fire Bolt has a range of 18m, and can be used to create damaging terrains by setting specific areas or substances on fire, such as the Oil Barrels during theInvestigate the Ruins quest. You can even pair Fire Bolt with the Spell ‘Grease’ to replicate this whenever and wherever you please during combat, allowing for some serious bonus damage potential, particularly if enemies are grouped up in close quarters.
Best Cantrips For Every Primary BG3 Magic User Class
Furthermore, we’ve also included some Cantrip suggestions for every primary Magic user Class in Baldur’s Gate 3, with some pointers as to why they can bring value to that specific Class. These won’t go into as much detail as the top contenders mentioned above, but are aimed to give you some good starting options to consider and further evaluate when making decisions regarding your character build.
Minor Illusion
Blade Ward
Shillelagh
Acid Splash
Ray of Frost
True Strike
That’s everything you need to know about the best Cantrips in Baldur’s Gate 3. Now that you’ve been able to identify several of the best options for Magic users, feel free to check out ourcomplete guide covering all Races, Subraces, Classes, and Subclasses within the game, as this may help you finalize your build idea and finally bring that character to life.
