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Baldur’s Gate 3is already a game with plenty of randomness, with dice rolls determining everything you do. But some players just can’t get enough randomness in their lives. Merely rolling d20s isn’t enough to satisfy their lust for the indeterminate. For those players, there’s the Wild Magic sorcerer.
Playing a Wild Magic sorcerer means becoming accustomed to unaccustomed outcomes. You might begin combat as an elf, but end it as a chicken. Or you might accidentally set the house on fire. Or you might temporarily gain incredible cosmic power. The life of a Wild Magic sorcerer is a lot like a box of chocolates; you never know what you’re gonna get.
4 plus Constitution modifier
Spellcasting Ability
Charisma
Of the three sorcerer subclasses, Wild Magic is probably the weakest. That’s simply because the other sorcerers have guaranteed benefits whereas most ofthe Wild Magic sorcerer’s benefits are… well, random.
After choosing Wild Magic sorcerer at level one, you’ll unlock bothWild MagicandTides of Chaos. Wild Magic means every time you cast a spell of first level or higher, there’s a five-percent chance something will happen.Wild Magic Surges can sometimes be good things, like restoring spent Sorcery Points,or they could be bad thingslike summoning a hostile mephit.
Of the23 possible Wild Magic Surge effects, seven are always beneficial, six are always detrimental, and 10 could be good or bad depending on the situation.
Tides of Chaos gives you advantageon an attack roll, ability check, or saving throw,but also causes a 50-percent chance of a Wild Magic Surgeafterward. It’s a good way to improve your odds of something going right at the expense of something potentially going wrong too.
Bend Luckat level six is pretty muchalways beneficial. Spending two Sorcery Points and a reaction will either provide you with a 1d4 bonus to an ability check, attack roll, or saving throw, or hit an enemy with a -1d4 penalty to their attack roll or saving throw. However, with Sorcery Points already being used to restore spent spell slots and enable your Metamagic abilities,it’s best to use Bend Luck sparingly.
Level 11 bringsControlled Chaos, which lets youuse your reaction to cause a Wild Magic surge at an enemy’s location. This means that if anything bad happens it’ll only affect the enemy, but it also means they benefit from any good effects.
Someanecdotal evidencesuggests thatControlled Chaos uses a modified version of the Wild Magic Surge tableto make enemies more likely to suffer negative effects than positive ones.
This build will focus on being the best sorcerer you can to mitigate the potential negative effects of a Wild Magic Surge. However, random things can andwillhappen.A certain amount of zen is required to be a Wild Magic sorcerer, so if you tend to save scum after a critical fail, maybe try being aDraconicorStorm sorcerer.
8(-1)
16(+3)
14(+2)
10(0)
Charisma is your most important stat. It’s your spellcasting modifier, so you’ll want to push your Charisma score to 20 as soon as possible. Starting at 16 gives a +3 modifier to start, and you’ll bring that to +5 when you reach level eight.Dexterity is also at 16to improve your armor class and one of the most common saving throws you’ll make.
Constitution is at 14to provide you with a healthy hit point buffer and a decent saving throw to maintain concentration on certain spells.IntelligenceandWisdomare bothat 10to simply avoid a negative saving throw, andStrength is at 8as the bare minimum required to make certain jumps.
With low hit points and poor Strength, you’ll want toavoid melee combat wherever possible.
A sorcerer starts with four cantrips, and yours provides a great mix of damage and utility.Fire Boltis your best ranged attack, andShocking Graspis for melee attackers (although you should avoid melee wherever possible, you’re playing the most random class, so accidents are bound to happen).Mage Handgrabs things that are otherwise out of reach andFriendscombine with your great Charisma to pass conversation checks.
Chromatic Orbis the best level one damage spell you may get that can be Twinned, so grab that. As your reaction is typically being spent on Bend Luck or Tides of Chaos,Mage Armorprovides a boost to your armor class. If you’ve already got armor proficiency from your race, feel free to swap this spell with a spell of your choice.
Level two brings yourMetamagicchoices ofExtended Spellfor extra range andTwinned Spellfor incredible potency with spells that only have a single target (Haste being perhaps the best spell to twin).Magic Missilecannot be twinned, but guaranteed damage is really hard to pass up.
Level three bringsQuickened Spellto provide you with a potential bonus action, whileScorching Rayis the best damage spell for a single target even without Twinned Spell. Level four bringsBone Chillas a great option for undead,Misty Stepto provide a teleport, andtwo Charismafor better spellcasting in general.
At level five,Hasteprovides you, a teammate, or both (with Twinned Spell) an extra action per turn.Lightning Boltat level six is a great damage spell, and Banishment at level seven is a fantastic way to tip fights in your favor.
Pick anothertwo Charismaat level eight alongsideWall of Fire.Hold Monsterat level nine is another fantastic debuff that can turn fights your way. Level 10 bringsHeightened Spellto almost guarantee big damage out of your big damage spells, as well asCone of ColdandRay of Frostfor more damage options.
Level 11 bringsDisintegrate, one of the best damage spells to use with Heightened Spell, andChain Lightningat level 12 (feel free to replace regular Lightning Bolt with Fireball as you gain this spell). Anothertwo Constitution pointshelp with your hit points and to maintain concentration on Haste.
Best Races For A Wild Magic Sorcerer
Anybody can be a Wild Magic sorcerer, but there area few races that provide more benefits than others. Here we’ll rank each race in Baldur’s Gate 3 for being a Wild Magic sorcerer.
Half-Elf
Drow half-elf is probably your best choicefor Wild Magic sorcerer. You gainlight armorandshield proficiency,advantage against being charmed and sleep,Darkvision, and the spellsDancing Lights,Faerie Fire, andDarkness. Wood half-elf is also good, with stealth proficiency and increased movement speed. High half-elf is worst as the cantrip you get uses Intelligence instead of Charisma as its spellcasting modifier.
Elf
If you’re able to’t be a half-elf, be an elf. You getswordandbow proficiency,Darkvision, andresistance to charm and sleep effects.Wood elfalso providesperception and stealth proficiencyandextra move speed. Avoid high elf as you already have a bunch of cantrips.
Human
You get thelight armorandshield proficiencyof being a half-elf, but instead of all the other benefits, you getone skill proficiencyand25 percent more carrying capacity. That can be helpful with how little Strength you’ve got.
Githyanki
Astral Knowledgeis a great way to shore up your lack of skill proficiency.Githyanki Psionicsprovide incredibly useful spells likeMage Hand,Enhance Leap, andMisty Step, and you get light and medium armor proficiency. This would easily be the best choice if it gave you shield proficiency too.
Halfling
Halfling Luckseems against the theme of accepting the bad rolls with the good, but if you want to do something to give this subclass some consistency, Halfling will do it.Strongheart Halflingalso providesresistance to poisonandadvantage against being frightened.
Drow
You’re better off being a half-elf drowfor the armor and shield proficiency. Regular drow just gets rapiers, shortswords, and hand crossbows, which you’ll probably never use. The rest is still nice, though.
Dwarf
You’ll probably never use the axe or hammer proficiency, but each dwarf subrace offers something. Shield offers light and medium armor, gold dwarf offers a hit point boost, butDuergar easily provides the most withadvantage against charm,paralysis,and illusion effects,Superior Darkvision, and theEnlargeandInvisibilityspells. You also get thepoison resistanceevery dwarf has.
Gnome
Advantage on Intelligence, Wisdom, and Charisma saving throwscan be very helpful, but the gnome subraces don’t provide much. Rock gnome gives you history expertise, forest gnome lets you Speak with Animals for free, and deep gnome gives Superior Darkvision and advantage on stealth checks.
Tiefling
Darkvisionandfire resistanceare nice to have, but the spells you get from being a tiefling aren’t great. Asmodeus is best for a sorcerer, butProduce Flameisn’t as good as Fore Bolt andHellish Rebukeis fighting for a crowded reaction slot.Darknessis a fine crowd-control ability at least.
Half-Orc
Savage Attacksdoesn’t help at all as you won’t be making any melee attacks with a weapon.Relentless Enduranceis good to shore up your weak hit point total, andIntimidationproficiency is good to have with your Charisma score.Darkvisionis always good.
Dragonborn
You shouldn’t get too close to enemies, so theBreath Weaponisn’t particularly useful.One damage resistancedoesn’t let Dragonborn keep up with the other options here.
Amulet
The Protecty Sparkswall
+1 to spell save DC. Gain +1 to AC and all saving throws so long as you have Lightning Charges.
Necklace of Elemental Augmentation
Add your spellcasting modifier to cantrips that deal acid, cold, fire, lightning, or thunder damage.
Ring #1
Daredevil Gloves
+1 to spell attack rolls. Ranged spell attacks are made as melee attacks to adjacent creatures.
Ring #2
Disintegrating Night Walkers
You cannot be enwebbed, entangled, or ensnared, and you can’t slip on ice or grease. Cast Misty Step at second level once per short rest.
+1 to AC and all saving throws.
Off-Hand Melee Weapon
Melf’s First Staff
1d6 + 1 bludgeoning damage. +1 to spell save DC and spell attack rolls. Cast Melf’s Acid Arrow at second level once per long rest.
Bow of Awareness(if proficient)
None
N/A
You’ll always feel like you have too few spells and too few Sorcery Points in the early game, which is why you’ll be bolstering your spells withCirclet of BlastingandFetish of Callarduran Smoothhandsproviding both a free Scorching Ray and Invisibility, respectively.Necklace of Elemental Augmentationwill boost the damage of your cantrips so Twincasting a Fire Bolt won’t feel like a waste of Sorcery Points.
Further bolstering your spellcasting isDaredevil Gloves, which provides a +1 to spell attack rolls,The Protecty Sparkswallfor +1 to spell save DC, andMelf’s First Staffwhich boosts both spell attack and spell save DC. Defensively,Ring of ProtectionandSafeguard Shield(if proficient) boost both armor class and saving throws.
If you don’t have armor or shield proficiencies, thenBracers of Defenceprovides +2 to armor class and might be better than Daredevil Gloves.
Disintegrating Night Walkersare a great pair of boots that prevent you from slipping or getting entangled while also providing a free Misty Step every short rest.
Finally,Bow of Awarenessprovides a +1 to initiative rolls even if you never actually use it. Early on, it can be a helpful source of physical damage, but your cantrips will eventually overtake this bow as your best source of ranged damage.
+2 to Charisma (up to a maximum of 22)
Cloak of the Weave
+1 to spell save DC and spell attack rolls, cast Absorb Elements once per short rest.
Potent Robe
+1 to AC. Add your Charisma modifier to your cantrip’s damage. Gain temporary hit points equal to your Charisma modifier at the beginning of your turn during combat.
Quickspell Gloves
Cast a cantrip as a bonus action once per short rest.
Ring of Feywild Sparks
+1 to spell save DC. Tides of Chaos will always trigger a Wild Magic surge.
Helldusk Boots
You cannot be forcibly moved. When you fail a saving throw, use your reaction to succeed once per long rest. As a bonus action, teleport up to 60 feet once per short rest and deal 2d8 fire damage in a 10ft radius.
Killer’s Sweetheart
Once per long rest, after killing a creature, your next attack roll will be a critical hit.
Markoheshkir
1d6 +2 bludgeoning damage. +1 to spell save DC and spell attack rolls. Cast one spell without using a spell slot once per long rest. Cast Kereska’s Favour once per short rest.
Ketheric’s Shield(if proficient)
+2 AC, +1 to spell save DC and spell attack rolls. You can use your reaction to knock a melee attacker prone unless they succeed on a Dexterity saving throw. Advantage on Dexterity saving throws.
Off-Hand Ranged Weapon
Darkfire Shortbow(if proficient)
1d6 + 2 piercing, gain resistance to fire and cold damage. Cast Haste at level three once per long rest.
The late game brings a spurprising amount of power to your many cantrips. TheNecklace of Elemental Augmentationis retained from the earlier build and now offers the same damage bonus as thePotent Robe. Combined withBirthright’s additional +2 to Charisma, your Fire Bolt will deal 3d10 + 12 damage.Quickspell Glovesaugments that further by lettiing you cast that Fire Bolt as a bonus action, freeing up your action for a big damage spell like Disintegrate.
Cloak of the Weave,Markoheshkir, andKetheric’s Shield(if proficient) add to your spell attack and spell save DC, with Markoheshkir also providing a free spell once per long rest (Disintegrate again seems like the appropriate choice). Helldusk Boots will help you succeed on a saving throw, prevent you from being moved, and provide a fiery teleport as a bonus action.
If you’re not proficient with shields,Rhapsodyis a great weapon to have in your off-hand as it adds to your spell attack and spell save DC with every kill you get.
Ring of Feywild Sparksoffers the only piece of equipment built for Wild Magic sorcerers. It gaurantees a Wild Magic surge whenever you use Tides of Chaos. This isn’t necessarily a good thing, but since you’re playing a Wild Magic sorcerer, you probably want to embrace the chaos as much as possible.Killer’s Sweetheartguarantees a crit after a kill and can be replaced by Ring of Protection after you get that crit.
TheRing of Feywild Sparksislooted from Auntie Ethelin Act 3.
Darkfire Shortbowis there purely to provide you with a free cast of Haste and both fire and cold resistance. You should be relying on cantrips for your ranged damage at this point, so don’t ever fire this bow.
A great first-turn playis usingTwinned Spell to cast Hasteon two of your companions whileusing Quickspell Gloves to shoot a Fire Bolt as a bonus action. You can then use your reaction to Bend Luck or Controlled Chaos.
