There are twelve Baldur’s Gate 3 classes and the usual advice is to compare their damage, which is the least useful way to choose. Combat is about half of this game. The other half is conversation, exploration and finding a way past an obstacle, and your class changes all of it.
The table below lists all twelve with their primary ability and the subclass Patch 8 added in April 2025. After it is a way of narrowing the list that starts with how you like to solve problems rather than with numbers.
All Twelve Baldur’s Gate 3 Classes, Abilities and Patch 8 Subclasses
Every class in the game, with the subclass Patch 8 added to it in April 2025.
| # | Class | Primary ability | Patch 8 subclass | Role in a party |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Barbarian | Strength | Path of Giants | Melee tank |
| 2 | Bard | Charisma | College of Glamour | Face and support |
| 3 | Cleric | Wisdom | Death Domain | Healer and caster |
| 4 | Druid | Wisdom | Circle of Stars | Shapeshifter |
| 5 | Fighter | Strength or Dexterity | Arcane Archer | Weapon specialist |
| 6 | Monk | Dexterity and Wisdom | Drunken Master | Unarmed striker |
| 7 | Paladin | Strength and Charisma | Oath of the Crown | Melee and support |
| 8 | Ranger | Dexterity and Wisdom | Swarmkeeper | Ranged and tracking |
| 9 | Rogue | Dexterity | Swashbuckler | Damage and skills |
| 10 | Sorcerer | Charisma | Shadow Magic | Burst caster |
| 11 | Warlock | Charisma | Hexblade | Caster who never runs dry |
| 12 | Wizard | Intelligence | Bladesinging | Toolbox caster |
Three Things to Settle Before Picking a Class
None of these is about damage, and all three will shape your run more than a damage figure would.
1. Pick for Your Playstyle: Choosing without reading a spreadsheet
Primary ability: Any · Patch 8 subclass: All twelve · Role: The first decision · Worth knowing: Combat is roughly half the game
Class guides lead with damage numbers, which is the wrong way round for a first run. Combat is roughly half of Baldur’s Gate 3. The rest is conversation, exploration and finding a way past something, and your class changes all three.
A Charisma class talks its way through encounters other parties have to fight. A Rogue opens what others break. A Wisdom class notices things nobody else sees. Pick the verb you want to use when the game presents an obstacle, and the combat will sort itself out.
Pick for how you want to solve problems product page
2. What the Companions Cover: Avoiding a duplicated party role
Primary ability: Varies · Patch 8 subclass: Respec available · Role: Party composition · Worth knowing: Hirelings fill any remaining gap
You are not building a party alone. The companions arrive with classes already assigned, and the official character profiles state them: Astarion is a Rogue, Gale a Wizard, and the others fill out the familiar spread of melee, divine and arcane roles.
This matters for your own choice. Picking the same class as a companion you intend to travel with duplicates a role and leaves a gap elsewhere. It is also recoverable, since a vendor in the camp will rebuild any character’s class from scratch for a modest fee.
Your companions already cover six classes product page
3. What Patch 8 Changed: Replaying a class you thought you had finished
Primary ability: All · Patch 8 subclass: One per class · Role: Final major update · Worth knowing: Cross-play and photo mode arrived with it
Patch 8 arrived on 15 April 2025 as Larian’s final major content update, and it added one new subclass to every class in the game. Cross-play and a photo mode came in the same release.
The additions are not minor variants. Hexblade turns the Warlock into a melee class, Bladesinging lets a Wizard fight in the front line, and Arcane Archer gives the Fighter magical shots. If you played at launch, half the classes now have a route you have never tried.
Patch 8 gave every class a new subclass product page
Choosing by How You Want to Solve Problems
Four broad approaches cover most players, and each one points at two or three classes rather than at a single right answer.
- Talk your way through it. Bard, Sorcerer, Warlock and Paladin all run on Charisma, which is the ability the game checks most often in conversation. A Charisma character resolves encounters other parties fight through.
- Hit it until it stops. Barbarian, Fighter and Monk. Simple to play well, forgiving of mistakes, and the Fighter gets more attacks than anything else in the game.
- Prepare for everything. Wizard, Cleric and Druid. The most flexible and the most demanding, since the right spell prepared in advance solves problems nothing else can.
- Avoid the problem entirely. Rogue and Ranger. Stealth, lockpicking, traps and ranged damage, for players who would rather never be noticed.
If none of that settles it, Paladin and Bard are the two that are hardest to regret. Both are strong in combat, both carry the conversation, and neither punishes a new player for building them imperfectly.
Abilities, and the Classes That Need Two of Them
Every class leans on one ability score, and a few need two, which makes them harder to build well at low levels because your points have to stretch.
The single-ability classes are the forgiving ones. A Wizard needs Intelligence, a Rogue needs Dexterity, a Barbarian needs Strength. Put your highest roll there and most of the build takes care of itself.
Monk, Paladin and Ranger are the awkward ones. A Monk wants Dexterity and Wisdom both high, a Paladin wants Strength and Charisma, a Ranger wants Dexterity and Wisdom. They are excellent classes and they are not the ones to learn the game on.
Nothing here is permanent. A vendor in your camp will rebuild any character completely, including class, subclass and ability scores, so an experiment that goes wrong costs gold rather than a restart.
Multiclassing, and Why to Leave It Alone at First
From level two onwards you can take a level in a second class instead of advancing your first. The combinations are genuinely powerful and they are also how first runs get quietly ruined.
The cost is delay. Every level spent elsewhere pushes back the features your main class was building towards, and the big ones, extra attacks and higher spell levels, arrive late enough that losing them hurts through a long stretch of the game.
Two dips are popular because they pay off immediately. A single level of Fighter grants heavy armour and a second wind, and two levels of Warlock give a reliable ranged attack that never runs out. Both are worth considering once you understand your own class.
The safe approach on a first playthrough is to stay single class to level five, where most classes receive their defining feature, and only then decide whether to branch.
Where the Twelve Classes Overlap
Twelve sounds like more variety than it is, because several pairs cover similar ground and the difference between them is flavour rather than function.
- Sorcerer and Wizard cast from the same arcane list. The Wizard learns spells from scrolls it finds and can prepare a different set each day. The Sorcerer knows fewer and bends them mid-cast with Metamagic.
- Cleric and Druid are both Wisdom casters who heal. The Cleric is better armoured and more direct, the Druid trades that for Wild Shape and control of the battlefield.
- Fighter and Barbarian both stand at the front. The Fighter is precise and versatile, the Barbarian absorbs punishment and keeps swinging.
- Ranger and Rogue share stealth and ranged damage. The Rogue is the better skill user, the Ranger brings spells and an animal companion.
The practical reading of that list is that you cannot make a party with no gaps from twelve classes, because they are not twelve distinct roles. Four or five roles exist and the classes are different routes into them.
That is good news for a first choice. Picking the wrong class within a role costs you a playstyle you might have preferred, not a party that cannot function.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many classes are in Baldur’s Gate 3?
Twelve, each with several subclasses. Patch 8, released on 15 April 2025 as the final major content update, added one new subclass to every one of them, alongside cross-play and a photo mode.
What is the best class for a first playthrough?
Paladin or Bard. Both are effective in combat and both carry conversations, which matters because so much of the game is talked through rather than fought. Fighter is the simplest if you would rather not manage spells at all.
Which class is hardest to play in Baldur’s Gate 3?
Monk, Paladin and Ranger, because each wants two ability scores high and your points have to stretch to cover both. They are strong classes once built properly, and they punish a new player for spreading ability points evenly.
Can I change class after choosing?
Yes. A vendor in your camp rebuilds any character’s class, subclass and ability scores for a fee, and it works on companions as well as on you. Experimenting costs gold rather than a new playthrough.
Should I multiclass in Baldur’s Gate 3?
Not on a first run, and not before level five. Every level taken in a second class delays the features your main class was working towards, and the ones that arrive around level five are the ones that define how a class plays.
