Welcome to the Lightning Items guide for Baldur’s Gate 3. In this guide we will list the equipment items in BG3 that enhance Lightning Damage, and also explain the Lightning Charges mechanic, something that many of these items interact with.

If you want to create a build themed around Lightning damage, then this guide has the info you need to find the best items for such a build. Spellcasting classes such as the Warlock, Sorcerer and Wizard are great fits for creating Lightning builds in BG3.

Table of Contents:

Lightning Charges Explained

Like most of the magical damage types in BG3, Lightning Damage has its own special mechanic that can be accessed by using some special equipment items.

These items give you various ways of adding Lightning Charges to your character. Every Lightning Charge you gain adds a +1 bonus to your Attack Rolls, as well as augmenting your attacks with an additional 1 Lightning Damage.

When a character reaches 5 Lightning Charges, they are all consumed the next time they deal damage, which deals 1d8 bonus Lightning Damage. Lightning Charges decay by 1 each turn.

While it’s not the most powerful of the elemental conditions in BG3 (a good contender for that is Radiant Orb), the Lightning Charges mechanic is very accessible – every single item that pertains to this mechanic is available in Act I, and you could probably obtain them all within a couple of hours of starting a new game if you wanted.

Now that we have explained how Lightning Charges work, we will list all of the equipment that interacts with this mechanic, along with the locations to obtain these items.

The Joltshooter

The Joltshooter is a rare Longbow that allows the wielder to gain Lightning Charges.

Whenever you deal damage with the Joltshooter, you will gain 2 Lightning Charges. This can be especially useful on characters capable of making multiple attacks per turn, such as the Fighter or Ranger – these classes can unlock quite a lot of bonus Lightning Damage with this weapon alone.

The Joltshooter is one of three possible rewards for rescuing Counsellor Florick from the fire in Waukeen’s Rest, Act I.

The Sparky Points

The Sparky Points is a rare Trident that works basically as a melee version of the Joltshooter.

Once again, dealing damage with the Sparky Points will give 2 Lightning Charges to the wielder.

The Sparky Points is one of three possible rewards for rescuing Counsellor Florick from the fire in Waukeen’s Rest, Act I.

The Spellsparkler

The Spellsparkler is a rare Quarterstaff that is also fairly similar to the previous two weapons. However, this one does trigger its effect in a slightly different way.

Whenever you deal damage with a Cantrip or Spell while using this weapon, you gain 2 Lightning Charges. This works especially well with spells that have multiple projectiles, such as Magic Missile and Scorching Ray. You can upcast those spells to increase the number of projectiles fired, which increases the damage from Lightning Charges even more, too. This is a pretty useful option when you need a quick burst of damage, and Magic Missile is especially good for that because it cannot miss its target (although Scorching Ray will do more damage, if you can get all of the projectiles to find their target).

The Spellsparkler is one of three possible rewards for rescuing Counsellor Florick from the fire in Waukeen’s Rest, Act I.

The Real Sparky Sparkswall

The Real Sparky Sparkswall is an uncommon shield that allows the user to convert Lightning Charges into an aura that can debuff enemies.

Equipping this shield gives you an action called Lightning Aura. Activating the aura will consume three Lightning Charges and create an aura around you that Jolts enemies in a 6 metre radius, dealing 1d4 Lightning Damage and Dazing them, unless they succeed a Dexterity Save. Dazed creatures cannot take Reactions, have Disadvantage on Wisdom Saving Throws and lose their Dexterity bonus on their Armour Class.

While most of the time you are probably better off using your Lightning Charges for damage rather than activating this effect, it does provide you with a useful option for debuffing many enemies at once, and comes in especially useful if they are fairly tightly packed in an area.

The Real Sparky Sparkswall is found in a locked chest in the Grymforge, in Act I.

The Speedy Lightfeet

The Speedy Lightfeet are rare boots that allow the wearer to gain Lightning Charges by dashing.

Whenever you Dash or take a similar action while in combat, you will gain 3 Lightning Charges. As an added bonus, you also gain +1 to Athletics, which makes it a little easier to succeed at various actions such as shoving enemies.

The Speedy Lightfeet can be obtained very early in the game – they are found in a chest in the cellar beneath the windmill, in Blighted Village (Act I).

The Watersparkers

The Watersparkers are rare boots that allow you to create electrified surfaces, and reward you for doing so.

When wearing these boots, any water surface you step on will become electrified. Starting your turn on an electrified surface grants you 3 Lightning Charges. The main drawback of this item is that you risk hurting yourself by walking on electrified surfaces, however there are ways you can circumvent this. The easiest way is to wear another item, an uncommon ring called the Sparkswall, which prevents you from being electrocuted and grants Resistance to Lightning Damage.

The Watersparklers are found in a chest in Minthara’s area of the Shattered Sanctum (Act I).

The Sparkswall is found in a gilded chest in the basement of the Arcane Tower, in the Underdark (Act I).

The Sparkle Hands

The Sparkle Hands are rare gloves that are perfect if you want to incorporate Lightning damage into a Monk build (or any other unarmed build).

Hitting an enemy with an unarmed attack while wearing these gloves will give you 2 Lightning Charges. In addition, you gain Advantage against metal constructs and enemies in metal armour when you have at least 1 Lightning Charge active.

The Sparkle Hands are found in a wooden chest in the Sunlit Wetlands (Act I).

The Blast Pendant

The Blast Pendant is an uncommon amulet that allows the wearer to immediately consume all of their Lightning Charges in exchange for an immediate damage burst.

Wearing the gloves grants you a Bonus Action called Lightning Blast, which you can use once per Long Rest. After activating this, your next attack with a Lightning spell or Cantrip will also consume all of your Lightning Charges and deal bonus Lightning Damage, 1 point for each Lightning Charge that was spent.

The damage from this effect is really quite low and it probably isn’t even worth doing this unless you’re able to build up a very high number of Lightning Charges by avoiding consuming them until you’ve built up a large amount (much more than the 5 that normally causes them to automatically convert to a damage burst).

The Blast Pendant is worn by Dhourn, a Petrified Drow found immediately west of the Selunite Outpost in the Underdark, in Act I. Be careful when exploring this area, as a Spectator lurks nearby and is a very tough enemy if you’re not prepared to fight it.

The Jolty Vest

The Jolty Vest is a rare medium armour chest piece that allows you to debuff your attackers.

Whenever you take melee damage, you will Shock the creature attacking you unless they succeed a Dexterity Saving Throw. Shocked creatures cannot take Reactions and have Disadvantage on Dexterity Checks and Saves. Note that this effect will only trigger if you have at least 1 Lightning Charge.

As a small added bonus, you also take 1 less Slashing damage from all sources when wearing this armour, which doesn’t sound like much, but a flat damage reduction is always useful to have.

The Jolty Vest can be purchased from Brem in the Zhentarim Hideout in Act I, after you have finished the Find the Missing Shipment quest.

The Protecty Sparkswall

Possibly the item with the strangest name in BG3, the Protecty Sparkswall is a rare Clothing item that makes your spells harder to resist, and slightly buffs your Armour Class and Saving Throws.

This item comes with the High Spellcasting feature, which adds +1 to the difficulty class of Saving Throws imposed by you (meaning the target has to roll 1 higher to succeed the throw than they otherwise would have). In addition, it adds a +1 bonus to your own Saving Throws and your Armour Class, as long as you have at least 1 Lightning Charge.

The Protecty Sparkswall is located in a gilded chest at the end of the trapped bridge in the Grymforge, Act I. You will know when you have the correct bridge as it is filled with fire traps.

The Lifebringer

The Lifebringer is an uncommon circlet that grants the wearer a small amount of temporary health.

Whenever you gain a Lightning Charge with this item equipped, you will gain 3 Temporary Health. If you lose your Lightning Charges then you will also lose the Temporary Health, unless you had already lost it due to taking damage or replacing it with a different source of THP.

The Lifebringer is sold by Blurg in the Myconid Colony in the Underdark (Act I).

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