A lot of RPGs have various ways to approach and build a character. Some will give you a guided path of progression with various choices, and others will have a very open model where you can keep allocating points while not being locked behind anything.

How the tabletop system of Dungeons & Dragons handles things is that each class has a very set goal in mind, and subclasses create branching variations based on these classes — with some subclasses being better than others. However, you can also take levels in other classes to create full-blown hybrids. New players to Baldur’s Gate 3 should avoid multiclassing for their first playthrough as each class can play a dedicated role very well. For their second go at the game, it can be a really fun and creative experience to delve into the very rich world of multiclassing. Some classes go hand in hand like a Monk and Rogue. Some seem unconventional like a Cleric and Sorcerer. Then you get completely parallel class combinations like a Rogue and Barbarian.

Updated by Chad Thesen on March 4th, 2024: This list has been updated for the purpose of adding additional entries to give it a more expansive range of coverage for readers to have a deeper well of knowledge. This list has also had new in-text links added to make navigation to related articles easier for readers.

23 Crusader

Paladin + Ranger

• Ranger passives on a Paladin.
• Hunter’s Mark regardless of Oath choice.

Normally, when you think of options for a Paladin to multiclass with, you may think of using another charisma-based spell caster like Warlock, Sorcerer, or Bard. While those options are ideal, there is some merit to throwing points of Ranger in there. The Ranger’s Favored Foe gives the Paladin some extra utility, and their Natural Explorer option can make them naturally resistant to an element of your choice.

The real beauty in this multiclass comes with it giving access to Hunter’s Mark. A spell that has been proven to be great in the hands of a Paladin. This spell is normally always available for an Oath of Vengeance Paladin, but this multiclass lets any Oath use it — or even those that have broken their oath.

22 Leader

Cleric + Bard

• Bard gains a higher level of survivability.
• Bardic Inspiration dice make Cleric even better.

Another unconventional pairing of a Charisma-driven class and a Wisdom-driven one, this pairing would start with you going Cleric for the proficiencies spread, then later go Bard for the vast array of utility spells it provides without you needing to roll. This means you could even dump charisma and still have a high-performing build.

If you really want to take this concept to the next level, start with a Bard for the skill proficiencies, select College of Lore, and then dip into Knowledge Domain Cleric. You now have a character that covers an incredible range of skills, many of which have added bonuses to their results thanks to Expertise and your Cleric’s Domain choice.

21 Bardbarian

Bard + Barbarian

• Out-of-combat versatility for Barbarian.
• Extremely aggressive melee playstyle for Bard

This multiclass conjures up thoughts of a 12-foot tall, charging juggernaut that is either yodeling or Mongolian throat singing. A Bard is a spell caster that uses their Charisma, so it might seem like a counterproductive choice. However, there are plenty of spells to cast that do not require you to roll, making your versatility both in and out of battle significantly higher.

Bards also get plenty of features, like Bardic Inspiration and Song of Rest, that benefit the entire party. A lot of players feel their Barbarians are one-trick ponies meant for combat and nothing more. This lets you change that by dipping into one of the game’s most versatile classes. Things get even better when your bard is taken all the way up to the College of Valor.

20 Spellsneak

Warlock + Rogue

• Expertise makes Charisma check success chance even higher.
• Gives a Charisma Rogue lots of magic options.

A classic party composition consists of a Fighter, a Wizard, a Cleric, and a Rogue. The Rogue is not a Charisma class, but they still have a jack-of-all-trades style of play. They tend to have a high amount of skill proficiencies and Expertise at their disposal.

Related

Baldur’s Gate 3: Best Party Compositions

There are many ways to build your party. We’ll walk you through the best compositions you can choose from.

They can usually get away with being the face of the group. Mixing up Rogue with Warlock allows the Rogue to gain all manner of benefits from Pact Boons and spells that complement them a lot more than what they get from Arcane Trickster. Rogues are strikers who deal a lot of damage, and this just makes them even more deadly.

19 Shinobi

Monk + Rogue

• Way of the Shadow Monk gets Sneak Attacks.
• Rogue can cast Darkness using Ki points.

The closest thing you can build to having a ninja in the game is to mix a Way of Shadow Monk with an Assassin Rogue. These synergies go really well together since both use Dexterity as their primary Ability. They also have a similar mindset when playing them.

As a Rogue, you will have a higher amount of Skill Proficiencies and Expertise. This lets you cover a wide range of skills. You can be the group’s scout, thief, and face all wrapped into one. Way of Shadow also comes with a lot of shadow arts which will dramatically increase your potency of being a Rogue.

18 Nature Guardian

Cleric + Druid

• Cleric has access to two Wisdom Spell Lists.
• Druid has more cantrips than normal.

Both the Cleric and Druid fill the same role in different ways, and this multiclass allows you to use everything in both their books. You can run into the frontlines and then Wild Shape if things get too overwhelming for a much more effective Second Wind compared to a fighter.

You will also have 2 entirely different Spell Lists that both use the same Spell-casting modifier to reap all the benefits. If you are unsure if you want a Cleric or Druid in your party, you won’t need to choose thanks to this option.

17 Hou Yi

Monk + Ranger

• Cleric has access to two Wisdom-based Spell Lists.
• Druid has more cantrips than normal.

Both the Monk and the Ranger use the same two primary Abilities, Dexterity, and Wisdom. This allows them to synergize perfectly. The Ranger’s Natural Explorer and Favored Enemy make the Monk much more effective in all aspects, while also giving the Monk lots of spell-casting options using their already high Wisdom Ability.

A Beast Master can give a Shadow Monk something to keep the aggro off them while also gaining proficiency in Thieves Tools thanks to Bounty Hunter. Overall, this creates lots of fun combinations of features for a single character.

16 Savage Gladiator

Barbarian + Fighter

• Action Surge lets Barbarians pile on the damage.
• Rage gives physical resistance to Fighters

Both a Barbarian and a Fighter share a primary focus in the Strength Ability. What’s more, the Fighter’s kit allows Barbarians to really push the limits of their Rage. It is worth noting that wearing heavy armor will hamper the benefits of rage, so this Multiclass is more about building on a Barbarian to maximize the benefits and not building towards the best possible Fighter.

Action Surge can grant you that one final push to really pour on some extra damage and Second Wind allows the Barbarian to heal themselves if they find trouble. Both of these classes make use of the Strength Ability, so be sure to have the right melee weapon for the job.

15 Rage-a-holic

Monk + Barbarian

• Rage makes a Strength Monk viable and fun.
• Tavern Brawler ramps up the damage even further.

A Monk is the game’s best choice for delving into the world of making a dedicated unarmed attacker. There are many ways you take this even further. Giving them a dip into Barbarian allows them to rage while unleashing these strikes using their Strength instead of their Dexterity.

You can then take this even further by giving them the feat, Tavern Brawler. These layers of buffs all come together to give you something that has a new way of experiencing both the Monk and the Barbarian playstyles alike.

14 The Expert

Rogue + Bard

• Covers an insane amount of skills for one character.
• Three instances of Expertise by level 9.

The Rogue lets you take proficiency in 4 skills, multiclassing into a College of Lore Bard will give you proficiency in any 3 other skills. Throw on the two skill proficiencies from one’s Background, and they now have proficiency in 9 Skills.

Couple that with both the Rogue’s and the Bard’s Expertise that now means you double your proficiency for 6 of those skills. The Bard’s Jack of All Trades feature means you can add half your proficiency bonus to any of the remaining skills. This gives you one of the widest coverage of skills and roles possible.

Wizard + Sorcerer

• A Wizard with meta significantly ramps up its versatility.
• Extremely fun to play.

There are two things that make this build something any player will immediately want to consider. Firstly, Sorcerers and Wizards are the two most powerful spellcasters in the game, and you can heavily invest in Charisma to get by as a Sorcerer — and then just equip the Warped Headband of Intelligence to instantly make your Intelligence a value of 17. You now have both of these powerful spellcasting classes’ Spell Lists with high Ability values to effectively utilize them.

The second-biggest reason for a player to try out this build is that you now have plenty of spells you would not have as a Sorcerer that can now also make use of Metamagic. Quickened Spell and Heightened Spell are both great, but Twinned Spell in the hands of a Wizard is a whole new beast.

12 Grand Librarian

Cleric + Wizard

• Knowledge Domain synergizes with Wizard well.
• This takes playing an Intelligence Cleric to the next level.

11 Ambusher

Fighter + Rogue

• Higher survivability for a Rogue.
• Higher damage output for a Fighter.

Unlike the Barbarian Fighter multiclass, this one provides a lot of synergy between using both classes. You have a wide range of skill coverage thanks to the Rogue, but if something gets in the Rogue’s face, they will be proficient in a wider array of Armor options thanks to their Fighter proficiency in Medium Armor.

Related

Baldur’s Gate 3: Best Paladin Build

If you’re hoping to build the best Paladin you can in Baldur’s Gate 3, this guide covers the best feats, skills, and spells to choose from.

Heavy Armor should still be avoided due to its limitations, such as having Disadvantage on Stealth checks. Having access to shields however will make it harder for enemies to hit the rogue, and taking an Action Surge after a surprise attack lets you pour on even more damage in the same turn.

Paladin + Sorcerer

• Massive survivability increase for Sorcerers.
• Massive spell versatility for Paladin.

Just like Nature Guardian, this multiclass takes two classes that use the same Ability for their spell casting and smashes them together. A Paladin has access to heavy armor and is a natural frontliner. A sorcerer on the other hand is naturally glassy.

Starting with a Paladin and then going straight into Sorcerer afterward makes you a long-range spell-casting tank that also can heal itself with Lay on Hands if something tries to hit them. Alternatively, they can lead the charge and attack anything in the fight to drop the weakest targets first.

9 Choir Master

Paladin + Bard

• Bard gains more survivability and extra healing.
• Paladin can use College of Sword dice for more damage.

Paladins and Bards both use Charisma as their spell-casting modifier. This means a synergy between the two works wonders. By going with the College of Swords, the paladin will be able to expend Bardic Inspiration dice to give themselves bonuses to their attacks thanks to Blade Flourish.

Even with only 1 level in Bard, their range of spells will also vastly increase making them far more useful in more situations, and get a handful of Inspiration Dice to help others on their Ability Checks, Attack Rolls, and Saving Throws.

8 Switch Hitter

Paladin + Warlock

• Paladin gains access to pacts and short rest spell slots.
• Warlock gains heavy armor and access to smiting.

A Paladin walks the path of their Oath and has pledged themselves to uphold those values without question. However, this subclass doesn’t put all its eggs in one basket and has made a deal with another powerful entity. One of the reasons this multiclass is so effective is how the warlock class allows the paladin to gain spell slots from their short rests. This allows them to perform more smites than they normally would be able to between their long rests.

This gives them access to all the spells in the Warlock Spell List and access to their Eldritch Blast. This also means you can be a Warlock with Heavy Armor proficiency to add a lot of extra survivability in combat. Both of these classes will use their Charisma to cast spells from their combined spell lists. Combining these two classes is a great call for any playthrough.

7 Coffeelock

Sorcerer + Warlock

• Access to two Charisma-based Spell Lists.
• Higher amount of Spell Slots per long rest.

One of the most alluring elements of being a Sorcerer is the sheer number of spells they can cast thanks to their Sorcery Points. These points let you turn them into a spell slot, or turn a spell slot into more points.

A Sorcerer only regains their spell slots after a long rest. However, a Warlock regains all of their spell slots after a short rest. This means that even if they run out of their Sorcerer spells, they’ll still be able to stretch out their spellcasting across each short rest by means of their Warlock spells, making them a far more powerful spell caster than the rules ever intended them to be.

6 Makeshift Divine Soul

Sorcerer + Cleric

• Sorcerer with access to healing spells.
• Numerous domains give armor proficiency.

Sorcerers do not normally have access to any healing spells, so right off the bat, this can give an extremely combat-focused party a little bit of coverage when things go south and they need a quick pick-me-up. However, that is not the only reason you will want to mix these two classes together, with the real tantalizing thoughts coming when you realize that Storm Clerics synergize ridiculously well with Tempest Domain Clerics.

Right off the bat, this gives your squishy sorcerer proficiency in Heavy Armor — which can ramp up their survivability even when not acting as a frontliner. Channeling divinity to get the maximum damage in the hands of this Multiclass is borderline game-breaking, so much so that there are unique guides dedicated to running this multiclass.

5 Chaos Lord

Paladin + Warlock + Sorcerer

• High Survivability.
• Access to three Charisma-based Spell Lists.

Just like how Sorcerer gets a significant boost from mutliclassing into one of the other charisma casters in the game, this multiclass gives them two. Each brings with them some very powerful elements. The Paladin will grant Heavy Armor, some extra healing, and proficiency with martial weapons and shields.

This will help make them one of the best frontline options available. They also have access to Eldritch Evocations and Pact Boons from the Warlock, and access to 3 different spell lists. If you drop the Pact Boon, you can push Sorcerer to get that 5th-level spell slot.

4 Barbearian

Druid + Barbarian

• Druids can use Rage before Wild Shaping.
• Barbarians gain access to cantrips and Druid spells.

When you are building a Druid into this multiclass, you will be offered a circle when you hit level 2. If you take Circle of the Moon, you will be granted access to many combat-viable wild shape options. While in these mighty animal forms, you will not be able to cast spells. However, you will be able to use non-spell-based features such as a Fighter’s Action Surge, or the even more devastatingly powerful barBEARian rage.

Related

Baldur’s Gate 3: Best Wizard Build

If you’re trying to build the best Wizard character in Baldur’s Gate 3, this guide can help you out.

When you use Rage while wild shaped into something such as a bear, you will have Advantage on all of your Strength checks and Strength Saving Throws. You will also gain +2 to dealing damage and have resistance to bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing attacks. This makes your wild shapes much harder to take down and allows them to pour on plenty of extra damage while they are in effect. All from just 1 level dip into Barbarian.