In Baldur's Gate 3, players are able to choose from all nine of the classes found in the D&D 5e Players Handbook. This offers players a ton of variety when it comes to what sort of character they want to make. Further, enhancing character variety is the selection of subclasses that can be selected either at level 1 or level 2, depending on the class.
In Baldur's Gate 3, Sorcerers have three subclasses to choose from and select their subclass at level 1 during character creation. Draconic Bloodline allows players to harness the power of a draconic ancestor to fuel their magic, while Storm Sorcerers draw on elemental power to call forth wind, thunder, and lightning. Meanwhile, Wild Magic works its wonders randomly and without regard for friend or foe, manifesting chaos and manipulating luck.
Updated on August 15th, 2023, by Thomas Hawkins: Now that Baldur's Gate 3 has left Early Access, the maximum level has been raised to 12, and new subclasses have become available. This guide has been updated to explain subclass abilities gained at levels above 5 and also to explain the Storm Sorcery subclass that is now available.
Draconic Bloodline
Draconic Bloodline is the first of three options available to Sorcerers in the game and is technically several similar options. Players may choose a specific dragon species as their bloodline, receiving elemental resistances and abilities accordingly. For example, a Red Dragon bloodline would offer resistance to fire. Players will also gain abilities that strengthen damage dealt by spells that match their bloodline element and automatically learn a spell corresponding to their chosen dragon type.
All Variants
All Draconic Bloodline Sorcerers will gain the Draconic Resilience feature at level 1, giving them one additional hit point every time they level up and increasing their armor class by 3 when they are not wearing armor. This helps them to avoid damage more effectively than other Sorcerer subclasses.
At level 11, all Draconic Bloodline Sorcerers gain "Fly." This allows them to fly around freely, extending the distance they can move each round, letting them fly up to high places, and allowing them to descend from high places without taking damage.
Red and Brass Draconic Ancestry (Fire)
Players who choose a Red Dragon as their Draconic Ancestry will learn Burning Hands as an additional first level spell, while a Brass Dragon will instead grant Sleep. At level 6, they will gain resistance to fire damage and a boost to fire damage dealt.
White and Silver Draconic Ancestry (Cold)
Players who choose a White Dragon as their Draconic Ancestry will learn Armor of Agathys as an additional first level spell, while a Silver Dragon will instead grant Feather Fall. At level 6, they will gain resistance to cold damage and a boost to cold damage dealt.
Black and Copper Draconic Ancestry (Acid)
Players who choose a Black Dragon as their Draconic Ancestry will learn Grease as an additional first level spell, while a Copper Dragon will instead grant Tasha's Hideous Laughter. At level 6, they will gain resistance to acid damage and a boost to acid damage dealt.
Blue and Bronze Draconic Ancestry (Lightning)
Players who choose a Blue Dragon as their Draconic Ancestry will learn Witch Bolt as an additional first level spell, while a Bronze Dragon will instead grant fog Cloud. At level 6, they will gain resistance to lightning damage and a boost to lightning damage dealt.
Green Draconic Ancestry (Poison)
Players who choose a Green Dragon as their Draconic Ancestry will learn Ray of Sickness as an additional first level spell. At Level 6, they will gain resistance to poison damage and a boost to poison damage dealt.
Storm Sorcery
Storm Sorcerers wield the power of storms to devastate their foes and manipulate the battlefield. At level one, they get the ability "Tempestuous Magic," allowing them to fly as a bonus action after casting any level one or higher spell. The Storm Sorcerer cannot receive opportunity attacks when doing this, making it an excellent tool for repositioning.
At level six Storm Sorcerers get "Heart of the Storm," creating a localized storm whenever they cast a spell of level one or higher that deals thunder or lightning damage. This storm deals damage to all creatures within 6m of the Sorcerer equal to half their Sorcerer level (rounded down. The damage dealt by the storm is the same type as the spell that triggered "Heart of the Storm." They also get "Heart of the Storm: Resistance" at level six, which gives them resistance to thunder and lightning damage.
Also at level six, Storm Sorcerers gain a ton of bonus spells known. These consist of Call Lightning, Sleet Storm, Gust of Wind, Create or Destroy Water, and Thunderwave. These provide the Storm Sorcerer with multiple ways of manipulating the state of the battlefield and inflicting damage.
At level 11, Storm Sorcerers get the ability "Storm's Fury," which deals lightning damage equal to their level to a foe that strikes them with a melee attack. It can also knock attackers back. This helps the Storm Sorcerer to deal with any foes that manage to approach them in melee.
Wild Magic
Wild Magic Sorcerers surge with ancient chaos that manifests as a vast array of randomly selected effects when they cast their spells. They gain the ability "Tides of Chaos" at level one, which allows them to give themselves advantage on their next Attack Roll, Ability Check, or Saving Throw in exchange for raising the chances of a Wild Magic Surge the next time they cast a spell.
Wild Magic Surges can occur whenever the Sorcerer casts a spell of level one or higher and can cause a huge number of random effects both beneficial and harmful. For example, a cloud of smoke might burst forth from the Sorcerer, blinding all creatures within, the Sorcerer's weapon could surge with energy, the Sorcerer could gain teleportation, blur all allies nearby, or any of a huge number of other effects.
At level 6, Wild Magic Sorcerers can "Bend Luck." When a creature they can see makes a saving throw, attack roll, or ability check, the Wild Magic Sorcerer can spend 2 Sorcery Points to roll 1d4 and apply the result as a bonus or penalty to that roll. This allows the Wild Magic Sorcerer to, as the name suggests, bend luck in their favor.
At level 11, Wild Magic Sorcerers get the feature "Controlled Chaos," giving foes near the sorcerer a chance to trigger a Wild Magic Surge when casting spells. This extends the chaos they cause and can potentially cause serious harm to enemy spellcasters, though it also has a decent chance of helping them out too.
Wild Magic Sorcerers are chaos incarnate and can be both powerful allies and constant sources of additional danger, depending on how the dice land.
Baldur's Gate 3 is available now for PC and Mac and launches on September 6th, 2023, for PS5.
