Best BG3 Spore Druid Build Guide

Welcome to the Circle of the Spores Druid build for Baldur’s Gate 3. The Druid class is highly effective, it can heal and transform into different creatures via the Wild Shape action in BG3. While the other two Druid subclasses focus more on beasts and plants, the Circle of the Spores is themed around decay, and they have access to some darker forms of magic such as necromancy. You can summon poisonous clouds, diseases and zombies at higher levels to attack your foes.

Please visit our Best BG3 Builds overview page for more builds or check out our Best BG3 Druid Build with the Circle of the Moon subclass. To get an overview of all classes please visit the BG3 Classes overview page.

The Circle of Spores Druid retains the ability to transform into various animals, however, they can also use their Wild Shape charges to buff themselves and deal extra damage to enemies. The Circle of Spores Build works on both PC and Console (PS5 and Xbox Series X/S).

Table of Contents:

• Druid Class Guide
  • Circle of Spores Subclass
• Character Creation (Level 1)
• Leveling Progression
  • Level 2
  • Level 3
  • Level 4
  • Level 5
  • Level 6
  • Level 7
  • Level 8
  • Level 9
  • Level 10
  • Level 11
  • Level 12
• Wild Shape Transformations
• Equipment
  • Early-Game
  • Late-Game
• How to play the build

BG3 Druid Class Guide

Before we start with the build let’s explain how the Druid class works, to get a good sense of how you will play this class in Baldur’s Gate 3. First and foremost the Druid’s main class feature is the different Wild Shape forms you can transform into. You can also read our BG3 Druid Wild Shape Forms Guide to see all the different transformations and what they do. You will get new forms at level two, four, six, eight and ten. Of course, the higher-level transformations are more powerful. However, even the early game transformations are still widely used because of their mechanics outside of combat.

The neat thing about the Wild Shape is that you get a free second life. You can start combat as a bear (high Hit Points) and when his hit points are reduced to 0 your Druid will transform back into normal form and still has full hit points. This alone makes Druid super tanky and a good frontline combatant.

One of the early transformations you get is the Cat Wild Shape. The Cat isn’t used in combat, but it is extremely useful to get past NPCs and steal stuff as they won’t pay attention to you. You can also lure enemies into a location with the Meow action. Another great Wild Shape form that is widely used is the Owlbear Wild Shape that you get at level 6. The Owlbear has high Hit Points and because it is so heavy it can knock prone enemies around it with Rupture, one of our favorite transformations for our build.

To transform you will need so-called Wild Shape Charges, these can be replenished during a Short Rest. At level 5 you will gain the passive Wild Strike that allows you to make additional attacks when transformed.

Not only can use transform into creatures, but you can also summon creatures as a Druid! At level 7 you will be able to use Conjure Minor Elemental and Conjure Woodland Being. At level 9 you can use Conjure Elemental. This means that our build will be able to use three Summons and its Wild Shape at the same time, good luck fighting against this! In the image below you can see the Azer Minor Elemental (39HP), the Woodland Being (22HP), the Fire Myrmidon (123HP) and the Owlbear transformation, which has 122 HP and 22 THP (Temporary Hit Points) with Armour of Moonbasking, more about this in the Druid Build Gear section.

Circle of the Spores Subclass

We are using the Circle of Spores subclass for this build. Druids are able to choose their subclass when they reach Level 2 – be careful not to miss it – your build will default to Circle of the Land if you do not change the subclass!

The Circle of Spores Druid immediately gains the ability to use fungal spores to damage foes and invigorate themselves. At higher levels, these spores can be used to reanimate corpses or create toxic clouds. Some of these abilities consume a Wild Shape charge to use – this is the same resource that is used to transform into animal forms, so be sure to keep an eye on how many Wild Shape charges you have remaining.

The Circle of Spores Druid also gains access to a selection of spells as they level up – some of these spells, such as Animate Dead, are normally unavailable to Druids. They can offer new build possibilities for the Druid and are a nice thematic inclusion for this subclass.

Character Creation (Level 1) for the Circle of Spores Druid

In this section, we will guide you through the best options in Character Creation for the BG3 Circle of Spores Druid Build. While you can deviate somewhat from this if you want, following these steps will result in the most powerful starting point for your Druid.

Background

The following Backgrounds are the best choice for your Druid:

• Acolyte
• Folk Hero
• Outlander

These backgrounds give us the most proficiency with Wisdom-based skills. You will want to have high Wisdom on your Druid, since this is the ability needed for spellcasting on this class – these backgrounds fit nicely with that.

Race

While in Early Access your race choice was a very important component of your build, this is no longer the case. This is because your race now has no bearing on your Ability scores, which are the most important factor at play. This gives players more freedom to choose any race and class combination that they wish, without having to worry about being pigeonholed into a “meta” race for their class.

However, there are still some useful passive features sourced from your race and subrace, which may be of advantage when it comes to the Druid build. Some interesting options are:

• Wood Elf or Wood Half-Elf – Gains very high Movement Speed, great for quickly taking advantageous positions and outrunning enemies.
• Gold Dwarf – Gets +1 bonus HP per Level.
• Halfling, Any – Lets you reroll your die whenever you roll a 1. This makes a Critical Miss extremely unlikely.
• Forest Gnome – Gets Advantage on Intelligence, Wisdom and Charisma Saving Throws, and a cool thematic pick for the Druid.

Don’t worry if you don’t want to go with any of these races. As mentioned above, your chosen race is of fairly low importance in Baldur’s Gate 3.

Skills

It’s not hugely important which skills you choose. For the most part, these are used in dialogue and other such actions. However, you’re likely going to have more success choosing skills that fall under Wisdom, as you’ll be building with a high Wisdom score anyway due to its benefit on combat.

Choosing Insight and Perception will work well for us, as these skills are already boosted by our Wisdom and will be boosted by 2 more points by choosing to have proficiency with them. These skills are also great for detecting secrets in dialogue and exploration, which can lead to a richer and more enjoyable playthrough.

Abilities

For the Druid, Wisdom is the most important ability, followed by Constitution and Dexterity. Wisdom is used to determine how effective your spells are. Dexterity adds a bonus to your Armour Class, and Constitution increases your HP and makes it easier to succeed Concentration Saving Throws (continuing the effects of an ongoing Concentration spell after you take damage).

Therefore, we recommend an ability distribution that looks like this:

• Strength: 10
• Dexterity: 14
• Constitution: 16
• Intelligence: 8
• Wisdom: 17
• Charisma: 8

Cantrips

You can choose two Cantrips to start the game with. We recommend the following options:

• Thorn Whip – Thorn whip does a modest amount of piercing damage, but its most useful application is its ability to control the position of enemies on the battlefield. If an enemy is entrenched in a strong position and giving you a hard time, you can use Thorn Whip to pull them towards you. This is especially useful on enemies who have an elevation advantage over you. Thorn Whip can pull them down to your level. Depending on how high they are, they may receive additional falling damage, possibly even killing them immediately.
• Shillelagh – Shillelagh imbues your staff or club with magical energy for the next 10 turns, causing it to deal extra bludgeoning damage. This spell might seem fairly mediocre at first glance, but it’s actually a huge blessing for us in the early game, as it also causes our melee attacks to use our Wisdom instead of our Strength, massively improving your attack rolls if you built the Druid as recommended above. This is also a Bonus Action, meaning you can cast it and then perform an attack on the same turn.

Spells

You also need to select four Prepared Spells to begin the game with. On the Druid, your spells need to be Prepared in order to use them. We recommend choosing the following four spells:

• Speak with Animals – It’d be silly for a Druid not to have this spell. The effect is self-explanatory – it allows you to speak with animals as if they were humans, which unlocks some otherwise hidden interactions.
• Thunderwave – Thunderwave produces a large directional wave originating from your character, knocking back all characters and objects in its path. It also deals some Thunder damage. Not only is this a decent AOE damage spell, it’s also great for creating space, and you can knock enemies off ledges or cliffs, subjecting them to additional fall damage or even an immediate demise.
• Faerie Fire – Faerie Fire is an AOE debuff spell, placing an effect on characters in the area that improves Attack Rolls against them. It requires Concentration to maintain the spell, but you’re generally going to have considerably better results from attack rolls as long as you can maintain this on your targets. Just be careful not to place it on your allies by accident. This also pulls targets out of any effects that make them invisible.
• Healing Word – Healing Word is a nice healing spell that can be used at long range. At first glance, you might think that Cure Wounds is better, due to its higher potential healing roll. However Cure Wounds can only be cast at Melee Range which gives it a major disadvantage versus Healing Word, and Healing Word is also a Bonus Action, meaning you can still attack or cast another cantrip or spell on the same turn.

Note that the number of Prepared Spells we can have depends on our Character Level and our Wisdom. Each character Level will give another slot, and increasing our Wisdom skill further will also add to this.

Concentration

The Concentration mechanic is important to understand for any spellcaster. Many spells that leave a lingering effect on an enemy or an area require Concentration to maintain. You can see if a spell requires Concentration on its tooltip.

What this means is that whenever the caster takes damage, they must go through a Concentration Check. Failing the check will break Concentration and put an end to any ongoing Concentration spells that they were maintaining. Having a higher Constitution score improves your chances of passing Concentration Checks.

You can only have one Concentration spell active at a time (per character). Casting another Concentration Spell will replace the ongoing effects of the previous one.

Druids can use the following weapons and armour at the beginning (certain races may unlock more options):

• Weapons: Clubs, Daggers, Javelins, Maces, Quarterstaffs, Scimitars, Sickles, Spears, Pikes, Halberds, Glaives
• Armours: Light Armour, Medium Armour, Shields

Levelling Progression for the Circle of Spores Build

Now let us take a look at the levelling progression for the Druid from level two to max level twelve in Baldur’s Gate 3. Subclass selection happens at level 2 – make sure to select the Circle of the Spores subclass.

Level 2

When you reach Level 2, you will need to choose which Subclass you want to use for your BG3 Druid Build. You can view more information about the three subclasses here.

For this Druid build, we’ll be using the Circle of the Spores subclass, which unlocks extra spells as you level up and allows you to use fungal spores to damage enemies or invigorate yourself.

From this level onwards, you will be able to use your Wild Shape charges to transform into a Badger, Cat, Spider or Wolf.

Meanwhile, your Circle of Spores subclass will initially grant you the following benefits:

• Bone Chill – This is a pretty nice feature of this subclass – the Thorn Whip Cantrip is honestly not very good, and Bone Chill offers a better alternative. It can deal more damage and can apply the Bone Chilled Condition to the target, preventing them from regaining HP.
• Halo of Spores – Unleash a cloud of Necrotic spores on a target within 6 metres. This ability is very unusual since it requires you to actively spend your Reaction on your turn in order to activate it – this means that after using this you will not be able to perform any Reactions such as Opportunist Attacks until your next turn. However, it basically offers you a small amount of extra Necrotic Damage every turn, at the expense of having a Reaction. The possible damage of Halo of Spores increases at higher levels, for now it is only 1d4.
• Symbiotic Entity – This places a buff on your character, at the expense of a Wild Shape charge (and an Action, so try to use this before combat starts). You gain 4 Temporary HP per Druid level, and while you have the THP your melee weapon and unarmed attacks gain 1d6 extra Necrotic Damage. Your Halo of Spores also deals double damage while this is active. In the best-case scenario, this buff can last until your next Long Rest – however it will end early if you lose all of the Temporary Hit Points or transform into an animal with Wild Shape.

Finally, you can choose one more spell at this level. I recommend the Ice Knife spell, which gives the build some much-needed burst damage, with some modest AOE potential too.

Level 3

At Level 3, you gain access to second level spells – more powerful forms of magic for your Circle of Spores Druid.

First of all, there are a couple of spells that are granted by your subclass here, and are always Prepared – this means they are always available to use, and you don’t need to worry about slotting them manually:

• Blindness – Magically Blind an enemy for 10 turns, unless they succeed a Concentration Saving Throw. Blind enemies cannot directly target anyone further than 3 metres away. All of their Attack Rolls have Disadvantage, and all Attack Rolls against them have Advantage. This is a pretty powerful debuff if you can successfully put it on an enemy, and Circle of Spores is the only way to get this on a Druid.
• Detect Thoughts – Allows you to read the thoughts of certain creatures when talking to them. This is a Ritual Spell, which means you can cast it for free outside of combat. It’s also important to notice that it’s a Concentration Spell, so if you have any other long-lasting Concentration spell active, then casting Detect Thoughts will replace it!

You can also select one more spell from the regular Druid spell list. I recommend Spike Growth – a very powerful area of denial spell. The AOE of this spell is large, and anyone crossing over the spikes is slowed down and takes Piercing damage as they walk. Enemies will often get themselves killed trying to cross the spikes. Having a spell like this at your disposal can make otherwise difficult fights a walk in the park, by stopping melee enemies from reaching your party (or at least heavily hindering and/or damaging them).

Level 4

At Level 4 you can choose a Feat for your character, enhancing your abilities. We recommend choosing Ability Improvement, which unlocks 2 additional Ability Points. Put both points into Wisdom to improve your Spellcasting.

You can choose another Cantrip at this level. If nobody else in your party has the Guidance cantrip, then choose this – it’s great for improving your chances in various dice rolls, such as dialogue checks and Lockpicking. Otherwise just choose whichever Cantrip you like the most.

Finally, you can select two more spells from the Druid list to prepare. I recommend the following two spells:

• Moonbeam – Creates a small AOE that causes Radiant damage. As long as you maintain Concentration on the spell, you can move the AOE each turn by spending an Action, dealing damage at the new location.
• Heat Metal – Targets an enemy with a metal weapon or armour. Deals fire damage and forces the enemy to either drop the item or receive Disadvantage on Attack Rolls and Ability Checks. Heated armour cannot be dropped, so will always impose the Disadvantage. This is a strong dual-purpose spell that can debuff or disarm an opponent while also dealing damage. The spell requires Concentration, and you can trigger the damage again each turn as long as you retain Concentration.

Level 5

At Level 5 you gain the Wild Strike passive, which gives you an extra attack per Action when in a Wild Shape form. This only applies to your animal Wild Shapes, you will not get an extra attack when under the effects of Symbiotic Entity.

Your damaging Cantrips will gain an extra damage die at this level – they will now deal twice as much damage.

The Circle of Spores subclass will grant you two new spells:

• Animate Dead – Reanimate a corpse to create an undead servant
• Gaseous Form – Transform yourself or an ally into a cloud of mist to avoid attacks, have Advantage on Saving Throws, fit through tiny gaps and immunity to falling. However while in mist form, you cannot attack or cast spells.

In addition, you can choose one more Druid spell to prepare – you now have access to Third Level spells, too. Call Lightning is a good option – it deals considerable AOE damage, and you can recast it again each turn as long as you maintain Concentration.

Level 6

At Level 6, you gain access to a new Circle of the Spores action. Fungal Infestation allows you to raise a zombie from a corpse. It costs a Reaction and a Fungal Infestation Charge to use. The Fungal Infestation Charges are replenished after every Long Rest.

You can choose one more spell. Hold Person is a very strong stun that leaves an enemy very vulnerable to melee damage in particular. The stun is practically a death sentence if you have a strong melee hitter in your party, such as a Barbarian or Fighter. You can upcast it to attempt to stun multiple enemies with one cast.

You can also use your Wild Shape to transform into an Owlbear or a Panther.

Level 7

At Level 7, your magic becomes quite a bit more powerful, with another batch of Circle of Spores spells and access to Fourth Level spells.

The Circle of Spores subclass grants you access to the following spells:

• Blight – A single-target spell that potentially deals high Necrotic damage to enemies. Targets who save still take half the damage.
• Confusion – Cause creatures with an area to become confused, randomly attacking anyone nearby, including their allies. Targets can perform a Wisdom save to resist the effect.

You can also choose one more spell from the Druid list to prepare. Conjure Woodland Being allows you to summon a dryad, who can in turn summon a tree spirit. These is essentially two summons in one, and they can last until your next Long Rest, so you might as well pre-summon them before combat. They can deal some extra damage to enemies, create difficult terrain and distract enemies from attacking you directly.

Level 8

At Level 8, you must choose another Feat. Depending on your situation, there are one of two options I recommend:

• If your Wisdom is still at 19, pick the Resilient Feat and use it to increase your Wisdom to 20.
• If your Wisdom is already at 20 (having been increased by another source, such as Auntie Ethel) then get the War Caster feat. This gives you Advantage on Concentration Saving Throws. We are using a lot of Concentration Spells, so this is a great fit for the build.

Now that your Wisdom is increased to 20, you can choose two more spells from the Druid spell list:

• Freedom of Movement – A situational spell, this can be used to immediately cure any stun and grant immunity to the slowing effects of difficult terrain. It also prevents the target from being magically paralysed or restrained.
• Wall of Fire – Create a large wall of flames. Anyone who enters, or starts their turn in the fire takes 5d8 Fire damage. Requires Concentration to maintain the wall.

Level 9

At Level 9, you gain access to even more powerful magic for your Circle of the Spores Druid.

Firstly, your subclass grants you the following two spells:

• Contagion – Poison the target and potentially afflict them with a disease of your choice. After being targeted with the contagion, the creature performs a Saving Throw each turn. If they accumulate 3 successes, they will cure themselves. If they accumulate 3 failures, the contagion will be replaced with the chosen disease. You must be in melee range to apply the contagion. You can choose from the following contagions:
  • Filth Fever – Disadvantage on Checks, Saving Throws and Attack Rolls using Strength
  • Flesh Rot – Disadvantage on Charisma checks, and takes 50% more damage from all sources (does not stack with existing damage vulnerabilities)
  • Slimy Doom – Disadvantage on Constitution checks and Saving Throws. Is Stunned whenever it takes damage.
  • Seizure – Disadvantage on Checks, Saving Throws and Attack Rolls using Dexterity
  • Mindfire – Disadvantage on Intelligence Checks, and behaves as if afflicted by the Confused condition when in combat.
  • Blinding Sickness – Disadvantage on Wisdom Checks and Saving Throws, and is Blinded.
• Cloudkill – Summon a poisonous cloud that deals 5d8 Poison Damage to those within every turn. Required Concentration to maintain. You can reposition the cloud each turn.

In addition, you may choose one more spell from the Druid spell list. I highly recommend the Insect Plague spell. This envelops a large area in a swarm of locusts, dealing Piercing Damage every turn and slowing down enemies trying to move through it. This is especially good in chokepoints, where it can cause serious problems for entire groups of enemies. Requires Concentration to maintain the swarm.

Level 10

At this level you unlock the Dilophosaurus Wild Shape, allowing you to transform into a dinosaur.

You can now attack three times per action when in beast form.

Your cantrips gain another damage die, now having three dice each. You can also choose another Cantrip – we already picked out the best ones, so just get whichever one you like the most.

You can use the Spreading Spores Bonus Action, which seeds an area with spores that 2d8 Necrotic Damage per turn to enemies who inhale them. The spores do not affect you or your allies. Note that you need to have Symbiotic Entity active in order to use Spreading Spores.

Finally, you can choose one more Druid spell to prepare. I recommend picking up Mass Cure Wounds, which lets you target several allies (including yourself) with healing at the same time.

Level 11

At Level 11 you gain access to Sixth level spells, the most powerful tier of magic in Baldur’s Gate 3.

Sunbeam is a very powerful spell that deals high Radiant damage in a long line-shaped AOE. You can recast it each turn, as long as you maintain Concentration. We recommend choosing this spell at Level 11.

Level 12

This is the highest possible level for the Circle of Spores Build. You must choose one final Feat. The recommended Feat depends on your situation:

• If you did not already get the War Caster Feat at Level 8, get it now.
• If you already have War Caster, choose Spell Sniper, which reduces the base roll required to land a Critical Hit with a spell by 1. This Feat also lets you choose one more Cantrip. The best options are Fire Bolt and Eldritch Blast.

You can also choose one more spell to Prepare.

If nobody else in your party has Heroes Feast, then it’s a very good idea to grab this, as it gives your entire party 12 extra HP, Advantage on Wisdom Saving Throws and immunity to Diseased, Poisoned and Frightened. This is a very good buff and it lasts until your next Long Rest, so I highly recommend having someone in your party to cast it immediately after each Long Rest. If you have a Cleric in your party then they can do it instead of the Druid, for example.

If Heroes’ Feast is already covered, then give Wall of Thorns a try. As the name suggests, this conjures a wall of thorny vines that deal 7d8 Piercing Damage to anyone trying to move through them. Moving through the vines reduces Movement Speed by 75% and can also cause them to become Entangled (immobilised) meaning they will be forced to stay there and take even more damage on their next turn. This is basically a massively juiced-up version of the Spike Growth spell from earlier, and it can cause serious problems for enemies. If you are taking a defensive position in a battle, then this spell is ideal for making sure anyone who wants to reach you has a horrible time. Just try to put in a location that cannot be bypassed – the AI will (usually) try to avoid nasty AOE effects like this and doesn’t mind spending 3 turns running the long way around, if there is such an alternative route available.

Wild Shape Druid Transformations for BG3

This Druid Build is able to use the Wild Shape mechanic to transform into various animals, each with their own abilities, strengths and weaknesses. The table below shows the available animals, the requirements for unlocking them, their stats and their abilities.

You can find even more details about Wild Shape in the Wild Shape Druid Guide.

Circle of Spores Druid Build Equipment

In this section we will take a look at the best equipment for the Circle of Spores Druid build. We have included both an early-game and late-game variation. Early-game items are available in Act I and the earlier parts of Act II, while the late-game items are available in late Act II or Act III.

Don’t worry if you don’t have exactly the same gear, and feel free to experiment with other combos too. The gear here is just a guideline.

Early-Game Circle of Spores Equipment

This is the early-game gear setup that you can use for your Druid. You don’t need to get all the items, but the build will perform better if you find some of them. You can find these items in Act 1 or early Act 2.

Now let us take a look at what the gear does and where you can get it from.

Key of the Ancients

The Key of the Ancients headgear can be found in the Underground Passage. It will give you +1 to Nature. You can either get into the Underground Passage outside of the Druid Grove or inside the Druid Grove where the Goblin is caged. The NPC Findal will drop the Key of the Ancients.

Cloak of Protection

The Cloak of Protection is one of the few cloaks in BG3 that you can get right at the start of Act 2. This item can be purchased by Quartermaster Talli in Last Light Inn, it doesn’t cost that much either so it is a good pick. The cloak adds an extra +1 Armour Class and +1 Saving Throw to your character.

You can also read our in-depth guide on How to get the Cloak of Protection in BG3 which explains everything in detail.

Barkskin Armour

The Barkskin Armour is perfect for our Wild Shape Druid Build, this will apply Barkskin permanently on our character, even in the Wild Shape form. This item can be purchased by Quartermaster Talli in Last Light Inn at the start of Act 2.

Breastplate +1 (Alternative)

The Breastplate +1 is an easy-to-get item. This armour will give you 15 Armour Class. The Breastplate +1 is sold by various traders in Act 1 and can also be looted from a crate near Dammon in the Druid Grove.

Gloves of the Growling Underdog

The Gloves of the Growling Underdog allow you to gain Advantage on melee attack rolls while surrounded by 2 or more foes. This will happen often because we are likely using the Bear or Owlbear transformation.

You can find the Gloves of Growling Underdog inside the chest behind Razglin’s throne room. Head to the Goblin Camp, then enter the Shattered Sanctum and make your way towards the other side of the area to find Razglin and his treasure.

Spiderstep Boots

The Spiderstep Boots make you immune to being Enwebbed and your movement is not affected by web surfaces. The Spiderstep Boots are found in the Whispering Depths inside a room. You can enter the Whispering Depths via the Well inside the Blighted Village early in the game. Once inside, make your way to the area on the left side to find the boots inside the Gilded Chest.

Ring of Protection

The Ring of Protection is a really good ring that you can obtain early in Act 1. The ring gives you a +1 to Armour Class and +1 to Saving Throws. You get the ring by completing the Steal the Sacred Idol quest. To start the quest head into the Tiefling Hideout in the Druids Grove and talk to Mol. She is the gang leader and wants you to steal the Idol of Silvanus. The Idol is used as a ritual in the middle of the Druid, it won’t be easy to steal it.

Whispering Promise

The Whispering Promise ring applies Blessed to a healed creature. Giving them a 1d4 bonus to Attack Rolls and Saving Throws for 2 turns. You can buy them from Grat the Trader inside the Goblin Camp in Act 1 of BG3. Brem inside the Zhentarim Hideout also has the item. Roah Moonglow also has the item. Sometimes traders won’t have all items available at the same time. You can use a Long Rest to reset the trader’s items, might have to do that several times for it to show up.

Adamantine Scimitar

The Adamantine Scimitar is a powerful Scimitar that ignores resistance to slashing damage. The Scimitar can be crafted at the Adamantine Forge in the Grymforge Underdark area. Please read our guide on how to get into the Underdark. Once you are in the Underdark you have to take a boat to the Grymforge. Additionally, you will have to find the Scimitar Mold and Mitrhal Ore to craft the weapon at the Adamantine Forge.

Speedy Reply (Alternative)

The Speedy Reply is easy to obtain, it can be looted on a dead body at the Risen Road at x23 y604.

Scimitar +1

The Scimitar +1 is a good starter weapon and is easy to get. You can buy it from Dammon at the Druid Grove. Green items routinely change at traders, so if you don’t see the item for sale then a Long Rest will reset their wares. You don’t need to spend any supplies on Long Rests for this purpose. You can do this several times until the right weapon shows up.

Endgame Gear

The endgame gear setup is built together with items from late Act 2 and Act 3. While you don’t need all these items, it is recommended to get as many as possible to increase the overall power of the Druid Build.

Now let’s see what the endgame gear does for our BG3 Bard Build and where you can find it.

Shapeshifter Hat

The Shapeshifter Hat is perfect for our Wild Shape Druid. It gives you +1 Nature and one additional Wild Shape Charge. The item is sold by Helsik at the Devil’s Fee. You need to unlock her “special stock” to be able to see the hat.

Cindermoth Cloak

The Cindermoth Cloak is dropped by Aelis Siryasius in the Lower City. The cloak adds Burning to enemies that damage you in melee.

Armour of Moonbasking

The Armour of Moonbasking applies extra 22 temporary Hit Points to you when you transform. While you have the THP active, you also take 1 less damage from all attacks. You also get +2 Armour Class and have Advantage on Saving Throws against spells.

Unwanted Masterwork Gauntlets

The Unwanted Masterwork Gauntlets give you +1 to Attack Rolls and Strength Saving Throws. They are located inside a Gilded Chest in the basement of the Forge of the Nine house where Dammon works in Act 3. You can break the wall to enter the basement.

Abyss Beckoners (Risky Alternative)

The Abyss Beckoners are more of a fun item to use than anything else. Because we have plenty of summons active the effects you get can be nice. The Summons gain resistance to all damage except Psychic. However, they must succeed a DC13 Wisdom Saving Throw or they go mad, becoming hostile to everyone in the vicinity. You have to activate the effect on the right-side panel of your skill bars.

The Abyss Beckoners are found inside a chest in the far right side corner of the Zhentarim Hideout in Act 1.

Amulet of Greater Health

The Amulet of Greater Health is another item that is immensely powerful. It will boost your Constitution score to 23, increasing your health tremendously. Like the Gauntlets of Hill Giant Strength and Orphic Hammer it can also be found inside the Archive in the House of Hope that you reach via Devil’s Fee.

You can also read our in-depth guide on How to get the Amulet of Greater Health in BG3.

Ring of Regeneration

The Ring of Regeneration lets you restore 1-4 Hit Points at the beginning of your turn. The ring synergizes well with The Reviving Hands, Hellrider’s Pride, The Whispering Promise and Boots of Aid and Comfort. You could sort of create a chain reaction with all these items if you want to.

Shapeshifter’s Boon Ring

The Shapeshifter’s Boon Ring adds 1d4 bonus to all checks you do. This item is dropped by the Strange Ox in the Last Light Inn at the start of Act 2. You can use another ring here too if you don’t want to hurt the Strange Ox for the quest later.

Speedy Lightfeet

Location: Can be found inside a heavy chest, under the mill, entrance through Wooden Hatch at the Blighted Village

Justiciar’s Scimitar

The Justiciar’s Scimitar is one of the more powerful Scimitars out there, if you attack with Advantage, you have a chance to Blind your target. It also has a +2 Enchantment on it and the Shadowsoaked Blow. This is dropped by Lythindor in the Gauntlet of Shar in Act 2. You have to attack the rats, they will then transform into Lythindor.

Flame Blade

This isn’t actually a weapon until you cast it. The Flame Blade Spell is learned at level 3, so you can already use this in early game if you want. The Flame Blade also uses your Wisdom modifier for attack rolls.

How to Play the Circle of Spores Druid in BG3

While you can pretty much play this class as a normal Druid if needed (using animal transformations, etc), in general, you should make use of the spore abilities to enhance your damage and survivability.

It’s recommended to make ample use of Symbiotic Entity – this gives you quite a lot of temporary health and allows you to deal extra Necrotic damage with your melee attacks, and with Spreading Spores later on. Unfortunately, you cannot use Symbiotic Entity and a Wild Shape at the same time, one will always replace the other. So this subclass works best as a melee-spellcaster hybrid.

In spite of this, when Concentrating on a valuable spell such as Insect Plague, you may want to keep your character out of melee for a while to reduce the chance of your Concentration being broken by enemy attacks. The extra Necrotic damage from having your Circle of Spores Druid in melee is a nice extra bonus, but it’s often not the most powerful thing at your disposal, so try to prioritise your abilities depending on the situation.

Remember to use your necromancy abilities to raise undead – and you can combine these with the Woodland Spirit spell to have a large amount of summons active. These are very useful, not only for the extra damage they deal but also for distracting enemies. The enemy AI is often foolish in its target prioritisation and will put a lot of effort into targeting the summon rather than the summoner.

Other Baldur’s Gate 3 Builds

• Bard Build – College of Lore
• Ranger Build – Hunter
• Monk Build – Way of Shadow
• Monk Build – Way of the Four Elements
• Monk Build – Way of the Open Hand
• Necromancer Build – Necromancy
• Fighter Build – Battle Master
• Barbarian Build – Berserker
• Warlock Build – Great Old One
• Cleric Build – Light Domain
• Rogue Build – Thief
• Sorcerer Build – Wild Magic
• Wizard Build – Evocation School
• Paladin – Oath of Ancients
• More Baldur’s Gate Guides & Builds

If you want to check out the map of Baldur’s Gate 3, please visit the Baldur’s Gate 3 Interactive Map.