Baldur’s Gate 3 – Best Cantrips & Spells List

Magic is one of the most versatile tools in Baldur's Gate 3, whether you play a Wizard or Sorcerer or something else. One of the most useful abilities in a spellcaster's arsenal is cantrips, as there is no casting limit on these spells; they may be weak, but I've often found using them rather than a leveled spell is the way to go to reserve resources. But with numerous cantrips to choose from, it leaves the question of what the best Baldur's Gate 3 cantrips are.

Best Cantrips to Choose in BG3

There are numerous cantrips spread out among the classes of Baldur's Gate 3, and I've listed the best of them below, as well as what classes start with access to them. Note you can expand your access to a cantrip through races, subclasses, and feats.

S Tier

Eldritch Blast

• Warlock

Eldritch Blast is by far the best damaging cantrip in Baldur's Gate 3. The base form is already strong, but as it upgrades, it gains more beams and can be modified by Warlock evocations. This not only makes it more powerful and has more versatility, but the real strength is the multiple beams and force damage, allowing you to target more than one enemy, with a chance to land a critical hit for each attack.

Shillelagh

• Druid

Shillelagh doesn't do direct damage, but it can make any Druid a powerful martial class. It only requires a bonus action and imbues any weapon with an enchantment that allows you to deal a good amount of damage. It doesn't even require Concentration, meaning you can cast it and use other spells in combination.

Vicious Mockery

• Bard

At first glance, 1d4 isn't a lot of damage, so you may be wondering why Vicious Mockery is rated so high. The answer is it deals psychic damage (one of the least resisted damage types), but it also causes a disadvantage on an opponent's next attack role, effectively dealing damage and dropping a useful debuff at the same time.

Guidance

• Cleric, Druid

No cantrip has been more helpful to me than Guidance; having an additional 1d4 on every skill check is absolutely insane and essentially guarantees Shadowheart is always in my party. This additional die is small on its own, but it can easily make the difference between succeeding or failing a roll. Thanks to this cantrip, I've succeeded many checks, and it has quickly become my favorite.

Mage Hand

• Bard, Sorcerer, Warlock, Wizard

Mage Hand is another that seems less useful on the surface, but it provides some unexpected uses. Need to push a button or activate a trap safely? Use Mage Hand. You can set off traps, pick locks, and more from a safe distance and reduce the risk to your characters.

Related: What to Expect From Doing The Dark Urge in Baldur’s Gate 3

A Tier

Acid Splash

• Sorcerer, Wizard

Acid Splash may not do as much damage as other cantrips on this list, but it has the perk of hitting multiple enemies at once. This is useful for when you are facing large groups that stay close to one another. Striking multiple enemies at once — even if it isn't much damage — softens up the group for more heavy-hitting attacks.

Fire Bolt

• Sorcerer, Wizard

Fire Bolt is one of the most commonly used cantrips in Baldur's Gate 3, boasting great damage die and a good range. Eldritch Force beats it out due to its force damage, as fire is a commonly resisted damage type. Additionally, it powers up as you level up but still fires as a single attack, unlike the multiple beams of Eldritch Blast.

Ray of Frost

• Sorcerer, Wizard

While Ray of Frost deals less damage than Fire Bolt, the added debuff of reducing a target's movement speed still makes it pretty strong. This is a great spell if you are employing a hit-in-run tactic, as it can keep the enemy out of reach of your squishier characters. It suffers from the same weakness as fire in that cold damage is easily resisted, however.

Sacred Flame

• Cleric

Sacred Flame is one the best cantrips for a Cleric, and a powerful one at that. While most attacking cantrips rely on a roll, Sacred Flame instead requires the opponent to make a Dexterity save. This is extremely powerful against slower and less agile targets. It also deals radiant damage and uses a 1d8 damage die, making it effective at damage.

Light

• Bard, Cleric, Sorcerer, Wizard

Light may not seem terribly useful, but I've put it to great work in caverns and other dark locations. Having dark vision is a useful ability, but I often found that several places were still too dark, and it was easy to overlook hidden items and routes. You can cast Light on a character or object and essentially have a walking flashlight.

Minor Ilusion

• Bard, Sorcerer, Warlock, Wizard

Illusion spells are always tricky, but Minor Illusion has some simple uses that make it extremely good in certain situations. I've dropped an illusion in an enemy's view to distract them, then snuck around the other side. This has been its primary use for me, but I am sure there are more I have yet to discover. That said, the times I've used it have been beyond helpful when avoiding combat or getting into an advantageous position.

B Tier

Bone Chill

• Sorcerer, Warlock, Wizard

Bone Chill is not bad by any means; the competition is just stiff for damaging cantrips. Preventing a target from healing is powerful, but really only helpful against enemies that bother healing. Its bonus against Undead creatures is another niche effect that won't trigger with every encounter. These two things hold it back, but it can be powerful in the right situation.

Poison Spray

• Druid, Sorcerer, Warlock, Wizard

Poison Spray is capable of putting out some of the best damage for cantrips. The downside is it has an extremely short range (almost that of a melee attack). It is further held back by its Constitution save (a stat most monsters are strong in), and its poison-type damage, which monsters also tend to resist.

Produce Flame

• Druid

Produce Flame is a lesser version of Firebolt combined with Light. For Druids, it is still a great spell but isn't as good as either of the above options in comparison. It provides utility and damage to give it versatility, but it ends up not doing either as good as Firebolt and Light.

Resistance

• Cleric, Druid

Resistance isn't necessarily bad, but there are just better ways to use your action. Providing a bonus to saving throws is very helpful, but overall, you counting on having monsters target a specific character with something that requires a save. Combine that with its Concentration requirement, and you should instead just focus on attacking or another support spell.

Thaumaturgy

• Cleric

Thaumaturgy could be useful if it was given to another class besides Cleric. Having an advantage on Performance and Intimidation isn't bad, but somewhat lackluster for a class that doesn't prioritize these skills. They are also niche skills with others that can achieve the same effect. Still, having an advantage on these stats can be useful for characters with low or modifiers in Intimidation and Performance.

Related: BG3 – Upcasting, Explained

C Tier

Shocking Grasp

• Sorcerer, Wizard

Being able to prevent your opponent from using a reaction to strike your retreating spellcaster is very helpful, so having this spell in your options isn't a bad idea, but it's better to avoid situations in which you need to use it in altogether.

Thorn Whip

• Druid

I'll be the first to say I've had my fun with Thorn Whip; being able to pull a creature toward me has been useful when disengaging it from my squishy characters, and yanking an enemy off a precarious ledge is a blast. The downside is Druids are not the most tanky of characters themselves, and it is situational, so there are often better uses of a turn.

Blade Ward

• Sorcerer, Warlock, Wizard

Blade Ward only has its uses when there is literally nothing else you can do, and you just want an extra bit of protection. It doesn't make you harder to hit; it only reduces damage, so you are still taking damage. I've found the only time this spell has been cast is when I cannot hurl fire at an enemy or drop a supportive spell on an ally.

Dancing Lights

• Sorcerer, Wizard

Dancing Lights is the prettier and somewhat less useful sibling of Light. Larian Studios have nerfed this cantrip compared to its 5E counterpart, so I recommend just grabbing the Light spell in its stead. Both spells provide the same effect, but Dancing Lights requires Concentration, leaving it hanging in the dust.

Friends

• Bard, Sorcerer, Warlock, Wizard

Friends would be more useful if the target wasn't aware you charmed it; this can lead to bad situations that a temporary advantage on Charisma checks doesn't make worth it. Spells like Guidance or Thaumaturgy are a better way to gain a boost without risking an angry NPC.

Selune's Dream

• Amulet of Selune's Chosen

A healing cantrip is easily one of the most broken things in the game, especially outside of combat. However, the drawback of Selune's Dream is it puts your target to sleep. In combat, this means you either put an ally out of combat for a turn or have to waste your own to wake them up. For that reason, I only recommend using this cantrip when you have finished combat and need to lick your wounds.

D Tier

True Strike

• Bard, Sorcerer, Warlock, Wizard

If you are at all familiar with 5E, you should not be surprised to see True Strike here. This spell is mostly useless, as you could simply use your action to attack instead of giving yourself an advantage on the next turn. It has its niche situations in which it is useful, but I do not recommend wasting a cantrip slot on this spell.

For more information on Baldur's Gate 3, check out Should you let Auntie Ethel take your eye in BG3? and Baldur’s Gate 3 Best Starting Classes – BG3 Best Beginner Classes on Pro Game Guides.