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Baldur’s Gate 3 starts with quite the bang and then quickly devolves into one the most deeply rewarding experiences of recent times. This is in part down to the seemingly endless freedom it offers, but it’s also as a result of a compelling cast of characters. You will very quickly gather a large band, and that number will only increase over time.
In fact, the origin characters you first meet are just the tip of the iceberg, but due to the sheer scale of the game, throwing out a best party guide simply won’t do without breaking it down into smaller segments. This guide is going to cover the best party composition for Act 1 and Act 2.
Do note we are assuming all characters have kept their default class.
More Baldur’s Gate content:
5 Best Magic Items In Act 1 | Owlbear Companion | Perfect Pickpocket Guide | Oathbreaker Paladin Subclass | How To Cure Gale
The Best Party In Baldur’s Gate 3
There are so many things you need to consider in Baldur’s Gate 3 that nailing a truly great party can be tricky. In combat, you need to cover a variety of roles – more roles than you can fit in a 4-man team. Heck, the same can be said for out-of-combat shenanigans too. You simply can’t cover everything to its max, but you can give it a good whirl.
Our ideal party requires a custom character (or a character willing to change classes), but trust us, it’ll be worth it.
For this party, you are going to need:
- Paladin (You)
- Cleric (Shadowheart)
- Rogue (Astarion)
- Wizard (Gale)
Paladin
The reason we have picked a Paladin for the first slot is simple – Paladins are stupidly good in Baldur’s Gate 3. They are excellent in combat, they have specific abilities that help them support their team like no other, and they are built on Charisma, making them ideal leaders. You simply can’t go wrong with a frontline Paladin leading the charge.
We recommend going with Oath Of Vengeance since this party can lack consistent melee damage, and since we are running other support characters, we don’t need to tailor our Paladin to be purely focused on buffing and crowd control.
Shadowheart
Shadowheart is not only one of the most interesting characters in the early game due to her mysterious religion and funky artefact, but she’s also one of the best characters in terms of usefulness. This is because she is a Cleric, and if you checked out our best class guide, you’ll see we ranked Clerics very highly.
Shadowheart is our healer and support. She has access to some amazing spells early on that can drastically increase the efficacy of the party both in and out of combat. Not only that, she is perfectly happy slugging it out in combat thanks to her medium armour. Finally, if you need some more ranged punch, Guiding Bolt does a lot of damage right off the bat and only gets stronger over time.
Astarion
We highly rate Rogues for their ability to pick locks and disarm traps. Rogues are just a useful class to have around, and whilst they struggle to pull their weight in combat early on, they can really pick up the pace once they’ve gained some levels. We recommend throwing Astarion down the Assassin path as this unlocks a bunch of powerful Sneak Attack buffs, making up for his lacklustre damage otherwise.
As Astarion grows in power, he will gain a myriad of defensive buffs that make him an ideal frontline fighter who can also avoid magic like a champ. Since his Dexterity is so high, you can even invest in bows for some ranged sniping, which is exactly how we used him early on.
Gale
Gale is your Wizard and there is no substitute for him. Sure, you could run someone like Wyll, but Warlocks lack the diverse array of spells available to Wizards. Gale is your everything button. He can do damage, buff his defences, debuff your enemies, and crowd control effortlessly.
Every fight can be made easier with Gale in the back row, and the more he levels up, the more powerful and diverse he becomes. Easily one of the best characters in the entire game.
That’s all we have for Baldur’s Gate 3 for now. Be sure to check out our other guides and lists for more Baldur’s Gate content.