Best Classes - Tier List - Baldur's Gate III Guide - IGN (2024)

Baldur's Gate 3 allows players to enjoy an authentic D&D experience translated seamlessly into a video game. As with any tabletop game of D&D, one of the biggest questions players first ask themselves is, "Which class should I play?" It's a tough question to answer, but we've assembled the following list of best classes and even provide a BG3 Class Tier list that should make your decision on which classes to pick when building your team of adventurers just that much easier.

Looking for something in particular regarding classes? Click the links below to jump to...

• BG3 Class Tier List - Best Classes Ranked
  • Best S Tier Classes
  • Best A Tier Classes
  • Best B Tier Classes
• Best Classes for Every Role
  • Best Ranged Damage Class
  • Best Melee Damage Class
  • Best Healer Class
  • Best Tank Class
  • Best Utility Class

BG3 Class Tier List - Best Classes Ranked

Every class in Baldur's Gate 3 is good at something, even if that thing is versatility. None of them are broken, and none of them are underpowered. Every class shines in its own way, and they are overwhelmingly well-balanced. You truly can't go wrong.

Our Tier List only consists of three tiers: S, A, and B. Some classes are so good at what they do that they belong in the S tier, while others spread themselves a little too thin and land themselves in the A or B tier. None of them are poor enough to earn a place in any lower tiers.

With all that said, here's how we think the classes in Baldur's Gate 3 rank by tier:

• S Tier Classes - Bard, Rogue, Wizard, Cleric, and Paladin
• A Tier Classes - Fighter, Barbarian, and Warlock
• B Tier Classes - Druid, Monk, Ranger, and Sorcerer

Best S Tier Classes

• S Tier Classes - Bard, Rogue, Wizard, Cleric, and Paladin.

The best classes in BG3 are Bard, Rogue, Wizard, Cleric, and Paladin, as they are the best at fulfilling their role. All five of these classes are able to accomplish their specialty better than any other, even if just by a small margin.

For more details on why and how these classes succeed, see our detailed breakdowns below as we discuss these five classes in our Best Classes for Every Role in Baldur's Gate 3 section.

Best A Tier Classes

• A Tier Classes - Fighter, Barbarian, and Warlock

The A Tier classes are all marginally better than those in the B Tier. The Fighter and Barbarian represent two sides of a coin: the former has more armor but fewer hit points, and the latter has more hit points and less armor, but they both churn out damage exceptionally well.

The Warlock, on the other hand, wields unique spells that make them almost as powerful as a Wizard, and they can regain spell slots on a Short Rest.

Best B Tier Classes

• B Tier Classes - Druid, Monk, Ranger, and Sorcerer

The B Tier are all very powerful classes, and you could play the whole game perfectly well with them. They're only slightly less powerful than the other classes, and they're all versatile enough to find a way into your party if you need someone to fill a gap in your roster.

Best Classes for Every Role in Baldur's Gate 3

There isn't one class in Baldur's Gate 3 that's "The Best." Like any D&D experience, every class is good at something. Some specialize in certain aspects of gameplay like melee, range, spell-casting, or utility, which makes them better than others at that specific thing. Other classes are versatile, being good at two or three different aspects instead of focusing on one.

For the purposes of this article, we'll focus on which classes are best at the following aspect of gameplay. We hope this will help you to assemble a team of heroes that work well together to cover all of your bases:

• Best Ranged Damage Class
• Best Melee Damage Class
• Best Healer Class
• Best Tank Class
• Best Utility Class

Best Ranged Damage Class

The Wizard is the best class at churning out damage at range. Among the spell-casters, the Wizard has the most spell slots and gains higher level spells sooner than others. Thanks to the fact that Baldur's Gate 3 lets you prepare spells at will, Wizards don't have to agonize over their choices. Since they can learn spells simply by using scrolls, they can easily acquire a huge arsenal of powerful spells.

Best Melee Damage Class

Quite a few classes leap to mind when melee damage is in question. But with that said, Rogue is the best class for melee damage, as their Sneak Attack ability adds a huge damage boost that scales up as they increase in level. They can use this Sneak Attack whenever they have an advantage or just when another ally is near their target.

If you really want to empower your Rogue to deal the most damage, try dipping into Fighter for five levels. This will get you an Extra Attack that you can use to execute Battle Maneuvers that can help you gain advantage against your targets. For example, you can use Trip Attack to knock your target prone, then go in for a Sneak Attack.

Best Healer Class

The best healing class in Baldur's Gate 3 is the Cleric. They gain access to higher-level healing spells sooner than other classes, and they have the spell slots needed to keep using them. Clerics that choose the Life Domain gain healing spells that are always prepared, so you're free to choose other spells too. Life Clerics also gain a feature that adds additional healing equal to the healing spell's level +2.

Best Tank Class

The best class for taking and mitigating damage is the Paladin. They can wear Heavy Armor, cast their own healing spells, and they're excellent with a shield. Paladin subclasses all have features that reward good positioning and give them bonuses for placing themselves in harm's way.

The best Paladin subclass for tanking damage is the Oath of Devotion, which comes with mostly defensive spells that will keep the Paladin and their allies healed and protected.

Best Utility Class

The class that pulls ahead in terms of utility effects is the Bard. The Bard learns many useful spells such as Knock, Speak with Animals, Feather Fall, and much much more. Bardic Inspiration provides a healthy boost to nearly everything the affected character does, and that bonus scales as the Bard levels up.

Bards also get a trait called Jack of All Trades, which allows them to add half of their Proficiency Bonus to checks that use skills they aren't proficient in. This means the Bard will be at least mildly useful for any encounter.