Baldur’s Gate 3 offers the player a large array of races to pick from, giving the player the possibility to customize their character to their heart’s content.
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However not all races are equal, and some definitely stand out compared to others.
All Races and Their Subraces
Baldur’s Gate 3 has a total of 11 races to pick from, and within these races, most l possess a few subraces.
RACE | SUBRACE |
|---|---|
Human | N/A |
Elf | -High Elf -Wood Elf |
Tiefling | - Asmodeus Tiefling - Mephistopheles Tieflings - Zariel Tieflings |
Drow | - Lolth-Sworn Drow - Seldarine Drow |
Half-Elf | - High Half-Elf - Wood Half Elf - Drow Half-Elf |
Half Orc | N/A |
Halfling | - Lightfoot Halflings - Strongheart halflings. |
Dwarf | - Gold Dwarves - Shield Dwarves - Duergar |
Gnome | - Rock Gnomes - Forest Gnomes - Deep Gnomes. |
Githyanki | N/A |
Dragonborn | - Black Dragonborn - Blue Dragonborn - Brass Dragonborn - Bronze Dragonborn - Copper Dragonborn - Gold Dragonborn - Green Dragonborn - Red Dragonborn - Silver Dragonborn - White Dragonborn |
F Tier
In the lowest tier, the only present race is the Dragonborn race. In concept, the Dragonborn race seems great, especially as it has the most number of subraces, 10, to be precise. Based on the Subrace the player picks, the Dragonborn will get Breathe weapon and draconic ancestry specific to their subrace, which can range from fire to lighting, acid, etc.
However, this is really all this race offers, and the Subraces are pretty much the same with little distinguishing features.
D Tier
When it comes to D-tier, Dwarves make the cut for being a mediocre race, at best. Arguably the worst among the smaller races, it also has lackluster subraces. When it comes to race’s features, they come at a disadvantage for racial speed, only getting 7.5 meters a turn, compared to the average 9 meters. Besides that, they have the Dwarven Combat training, Dark Vision, as well as Dwarven Resistance, the latter giving them an advantage against poison attacks. While these can be useful, there are definitely better.
The Gold Dwarf and the Shield Dwarf have little redeeming qualities, however, the Duergar shines a bit through with their superior Darkvision and Duergar Resistance.
C Tier
When it comes to the C Tier, these races are somewhat better and can offer some advantages. Here are the races in this tier and the reasons why they were picked:
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- Halfling. They face the same issue as the Dwarf when it comes to inferior racial speed, granting only 7.5 meters per turn. However, there are interesting things that distinguish them from the Dwarf, though. They get access to Halfling Luck, which allows the character to avoid critical failure during die rolls. They also get Brave, which will give them an advantage against being frightened, which is less useful, in general, but still good.
When it comes to its subraces, the Lightfoot Halfling is the one that stands out with its advantage on stealth checks. They are a lot more interesting than the Strongheart Halfling.
- Drow. The dark elves, they’re, perhaps, overshadowed by their light counterparts. They get some interesting features such as superior Darkvision, Drow Weapon Training, and Fey Ancestry. Another feature they have is Drow Magic, however, the spells can be quite lackluster.
A big negative of the Drow is its subraces. While it has 2 subraces, they have no unique features, unlike every other subrace in the game. The Drow subraces are purely for dialogue options, with the Lolth-Sworn Drow having more evil choices compared to the Seldarine Drow.
- Human. The human race is best described as a jack of all trades, but master of none. They get access to some great features such as Civil Militia and Human Versatility. These are good but if the player knows what kind of build they want to make, there’s probably a better race for that role than humans. In addition, humans have no subraces.
B Tier
In the B tier, these are some of the best races in BG3, just short of the A tier, for one reason or the other. These races will be great to use throughout the game.
- Gnome. The best of the little races, the Gnome stands out over the Dwarf and the Halfling. Just like the other small races, however, they suffer from a below-average Racial speed, at 7.5 meters per turn. However, they make up for it in different areas. First off, they get access to Gnome Cunning, giving them an advantage on saving throws with Intelligence, Charisma, and Wisdom. They also have Darkvision.
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Now, when it comes to subraces, the Rock Gnome and the Forest Gnome are fine, one getting Artificer’s Lore and the other Speak With Animals as their features. However, the real star of the Gnome race is the Deep Gnome. Deep Gnomes have superior Darkvision, as well as Stone Camouflage, giving them an advantage on stealth checks.
- Tiefling. With fire attacks being the most common in the game, the Tiefling will be amazing with its Hellish Resistance. Depending on the subrace chosen, the character will get three spells - the most interesting of them being the Flame Blade, unlocked by the Mephistopheles Tiefling. This race is amazing as a spell caster for a good reason. Unfortunately, this race does experience a lot of racism in the game.
- Elf. The Elf is an iconic race. They get Elven Weapon Training, Dark Vision, and Fey Ancestry, as well as proficiency in the perception skill.
This race has 2 subraces: The High Elf and the Wood Elf. While the High Elf is decent, the Wood Elf is where the Elf race shines. They get Fleet of Foot, increasing their racial speed by 1.5 meters, as well as giving proficiency in stealth.
- Half-Elf. The Half-Elf is very similar to their Elven parents. However, instead of Elven Weapon training, they get Civil Militia, which is arguably better. However, they lack proficiency in perception.
And, similarly to the Elf, the High Half Elf, as well as the Drow Half Elf, aren’t the star of the show, as that would be the Wood Half-Elf with their access to Fleet of Foot and Stealth proficiency.
A Tier
The A tier holds the best of the best when it comes to BG3’s races.
Githyanki. A racist race that is also discriminated against, which could be annoying while playing, however, this race is an amazing fighter. Most impressively, they have Astral Knowledge, as well as Githyanki Psionics and Martial Prodigy. While this race has no subraces, as melee fighters, they’re unstoppable.
Half-Orc. The best of the best is, perhaps, none other than the Half-Orc, as a melee character, at least. While they have no subraces, they are still an extremely overpowered race, having features such as Relentless Endurance, which prevents the character from becoming downed if their hit points reach 0. They also get proficiency in Intimidation, Dark Vision, and the possibility to cause extra damage if a critical hit is achieved.
Baldur’s Gate 3 is now available to play on PC and PlayStation 5.
