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Baldur’s Gate 3is a faithful recreation of theDungeons & Dragons Fifth Editionrules, allowing players to bring their favorite tabletop characters to Larian Studio’s new CRPG. Aside from a few balancing tweaks to better suit a videogame experience,Baldur’s Gate 3offers all the classicD&Dfeatures, including Feats, Proficiencies, and multiclassing.
Multiclassing has been around since the veryfirst edition ofDungeons & Dragons, encouraging players to break out of the normal class restrictions and create characters that don’t fit the traditional archetypes. Multiclassing inBaldur’s Gate 3can allow players to do the same, to take the game’s 12 classes and combine them into thousands of unique combinations.
However, although multiclassing can offer players unprecedented freedom in designing their character, it can also be a trap for the unwary, leading to subpar creations that struggle to keep up with their single-class companions.
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How to Multiclass in Baldur’s Gate 3
Multiclassing inBaldur’s Gate 3follows theDungeons & Dragons Fifth Editionrules almost exactly, with only one major change. InFifth Edition, players must have at least a 13 in their new class' key Ability Score in order to multiclass into it,Charisma for Sorcerers, Intelligence for Wizards, etc. However,Baldur’s Gate 3removes this rule, allowing players to multiclass without worrying about their Ability Scores. Although this may seem a minor difference, it means that players have the full set of options if they decide to multiclass later in theBaldur’s Gate 3story, and don’t need to plan out their potential class changes during character creation.
With the removal of this rule, multiclassing inBaldur’s Gate 3is as simple as choosing to gain a level in another class when theplayer character levels up. This will grant all the class features available at the chosen level of the new class, but does come with some limitations. Players will never receive new Saving Throw Proficiencies by multiclassing, and they will also receive a reduced set of Weapon and Armor Proficiencies. Finally, only the Rogue, Ranger, and Bard classes offer an additional Skill Proficiency when multiclassing.
The Hazards of Multiclassing in Baldur’s Gate 3
Multiclassing may be easy to do inBaldur’s Gate 3, but it isn’t always a good idea. The most important thing to do when multiclassing is to pay attention to the Ability Scores of the character and the Ability Scores that are recommended for the new class. Although it’s possible to multiclass into Wizard with only 8 Intelligence, it’s not recommended except in a tiny number of builds that can avoid usingthe Wizard’s most important Ability Score. For most builds, trying to be an 8 Intelligence Wizard would be a disaster, with terrible accuracy and low DCs for all their spells.
The second hazard of multiclassing is missing out on the all-important power boosts that occur at certain levels inDungeons & Dragons Fifth Edition. While gaining other class features will always make a character more versatile, they may quickly find themselves falling behind in terms of raw power if they keep multiclassing before they can reach these important levels:
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The Benefits of Multiclassing in Baldur’s Gate 3
Aside from the increased versatility that comes with a whole new set of class features, there can be many benefits to multiclassing inBaldur’s Gate 3. Successful multiclassing is all about finding synergy between classes, reinforcing strengths and mitigating weaknesses. Some of themost popular multiclass builds on the tabletopthat also work inBaldur’s Gate 3rely on this synergy, including:
AlthoughBaldur’s Gate 3has remained largely faithful to the 5E rules, players who want to use a tabletop multiclassing build will have to be careful that it hasn’t been weakened or invalidated by a minor rule change. However, with a little research and careful planning, there’s no reason thatanyBaldur’s Gate 3playershould worry about diving into multiclassing. This is particularly true as, unlike inFifth Edition,Baldur’s Gate 3offers a respec option for players to try again if they don’t like their build.
Baldur’s Gate 3will release on Jul 11, 2025, for PC and July 01, 2025, for PS5.
