Baldur’s Gate 3 – Druid Build Guide

When talking about the best Baldur’s Gate 3 Druid builds, we need to consider the overall capabilities of the class. While we can become a traditional spellcaster or increase our Wild Shape transformations, there is still a viable third option. Our Baldur’s Gate 3 Druid build guide discusses Circle of the Spores, which turns you into a hybrid combatant.

Baldur’s Gate 3 Druid Build Guide – Circle of the Spores

Our Baldur’s Gate 3 Druid build guide takes a look at Circle of the Spores, due to its various utility effects, bonus necrotic damage, summons, and even zombie allies. We also have one Druid class overview which notes ideal choices during character creation.

In contrast to this, we chose to focus on a construction that avoids multiclassing. But you can respect and change class when it suits you, if you want more flexibility.

Druid Build Summary

As mentioned in our overview, we will be buffing our Druid further to ensure we make the right choices for spellcasting and melee support for our team. We recommend the following for the Baldur’s Gate 3 Druid build if you go the Circle of the Spores route:

• Race: Duergar Dwarf or Wood Elf
• Background: Any will do, although Folk Hero and Outlander are decent.
• Abilities: 12 STR; 14 DEX; 14 CON; 8 INT; 17 WIS; 10 CHA.
• Weapons and Armor: Don’t forget that druids are proficient in light armor, medium armor, and shields, so get your defenses ready if you want to engage in melee combat.

Important: Circle of the Spores Druid’s undead minions can cause neutral NPCs to flee in fear. This can cause odd occasions where you may have to hunt down an NPC. In some cases, allied followers can also aggro after a fight has just ended. As such, we recommend that you summon your minions in dungeons, as opposed to cities.

Druid Leveling Progression

Our Baldur’s Gate 3 Druid build guide shares some great options when you need to choose spells during character creation. Later we describe what makes Circle of the Spores quite unique to the class.

Level 1

Cantrips:

• Guidance – Gives 1d4 bonus to ability checks.
• Thorn Whip – Deals 1-6 piercing damage and pulls your target towards you.

spells:

• Healing Word – Heals one target for 4-7 HP.
• Thunderwave – Deals 2-16 Thunder damage and knocks back all creatures in a frontal cone in front of you.
• Optional/Lore Friendly: Speak With Animals – Talk to beasts and pets.
• Optional/Lore Friendly: Animal Friendship – Convince a beast not to attack you.
• Optional: Ice Knife – Throw a chunk of ice that deals 3-22 cold damage; the projectile explodes, dealing cold damage to other nearby creatures.

Level 2

At level two, you gain Wild Shape, which allows you to transform into a cat, badger, spider, or wolf. Additionally, you will now be able to choose a subclass. As mentioned earlier, our Baldur’s Gate 3 Druid build guide focuses on Circle of Spores, which provides the following benefits:

• Cantrip: Bone Chill – Deal 1-8 necrotic damage; prevents the target from healing; undead targets also have disadvantage on attack rolls.
• Halo of Spores – This reaction deals 1-4 necrotic damage to one target.
• Symbiotic Unit – This gives you +8 temporary hit points, while increasing attacks to deal an extra 1-6 necrotic damage. Casting Halo of Spores also doubles its damage while this is active. It lasts until the next long rest, but it ends prematurely if you use Wild Shape.

For the most part, you’re looking at a hybrid playstyle where you cast Halo of Spores for temporary HP, as well as the necrotic damage. If at some point you can’t cast spells or you don’t want to expend spells, then you’ll want to get into the fray as well.

Level 3

Prepared Spells:

• Blindness – Limit an enemy’s field of vision, causing them to miss more often.
• Detect Thoughts – Read the thoughts of other beings.

spells:

• Moonbeam – Call down a beam of light that deals 2-20 beam damage; you can use an action to move the beam.
• Optional: Spike Growth – Turn a portion of the ground into a spiky area, dealing 2-8 piercing damage and limiting the range of movement of anyone within it.

Level 4

• Cantrip: Choose your preference.
• Wild Shape: Deep Rothe – Can cast Dancing Lights and can charge enemies.
• Feat: Ability Improvement – Add +2 points to Wisdom, and don’t forget to hit Aunt Ethel for a reward that gives an extra point. This allows you to reach the 20 Wisdom cap.

Level 5

Class Feature: Wild Strike – Make an additional attack after making an unarmed attack in Wild Shape.

spells:

• Call Lightning – Zappa enemies in an area for 3-30 thunder damage; you can call down another bolt of lightning within 10 turns, and this does not cost a spell slot.
• Optional: Sleet Storm – Disrupt the concentration of spellcasters, put out the fire and create a surface of ice.
• Optional: Plant Growth – Make weeds burst from the ground to cover an area; enemies moving through it will have their movement area quartered.

Level 6

Class Features:

• Panther – Become a panther that can roam invisibly.
• Owl Bear – Become an owl bear that can crack the ground and get angry.

Subclass Action: Mushroom Attack – Raise the corpse of a beast or humanoid and turn it into a zombie ally. You have multiple charges that replenish when you take a long rest, which means you can also breed multiple zombies to fight by your side.

Level 7

Prepared Spells:

• Blight – Deals 8-64 necrotic damage; plants are more susceptible to this spell; no effect on undead and constructs.
• Confusion – Confuse a group of creatures, causing them to attack randomly, wander around aimlessly, or skip turns in a hibernation.

spells:

• Ice Storm – Cause hail to rain from the sky, dealing 6-40 cold damage. The frost patch that forms can also cause creatures to slip and fall prone.
• Conjure Woodland Being – Create a dryad to fight by your side. It can use Nature’s Step and Entangle, as well as summon a Wood Woad.
• Optional: Stoneskin – Concentrate to buff a target’s defenses; they take only half the damage from all non-magical snapping, piercing, and slashing damage.
• Optional: Grasping Vine – Concentrate to summon a giant vine that can pull enemies towards itself.

Level 8

Feat: Elemental Adept (Cold) – You’ve probably used spells like Ice Storm and Ice Knife, so this makes the most sense to grab.

Level 9

spells:

• Conjure Elemental – Summon an elemental ally to fight by your side.
• Optional: Insect Plague – Locusts attack everyone within range, dealing 4-40 piercing damage; affected area becomes difficult terrain that brings disadvantages to Perception checks.

Level 10

Class Feature: Improved Wildstrike – Make two additional attacks after making an unarmed attack in Wild Shape.

Wild Shape: Dilophosaurus – Transforms into a dinosaur that can use Corrosive Spit to lower a target’s armor class.

Subclass Feature: Dispersal Spores – While Symbiotic Entity is active, you can cast Dispersal Spores in an area. Enemies take 2-16 necrotic damage per turn, while your allies are immune.

These are our picks for the Druid build in Baldur’s Gate 3. We’ll be updating our guide soon, so stay tuned.