In this guide we will list the equipment items in Baldur’s Gate 3 that trigger on Radiant Damage. Obtaining these items is perfect if you want to make a build based on dealing Radiant damage to enemies.

While there are several classes that possess some Radiant abilities, the best classes for a build like this are the Cleric and the Paladin.

The Radiant Damage mechanic in BG3 might not seem like much at first, but it is actually extremely powerful, and once you have collected some of the items in this guide you can turn normally powerful enemies into blundering fools who will miss almost every attack that uses Attack Rolls to determine hit chance.

Table of Contents:

Radiant Damage – Radiating Orb Explained

Most of the magical damage types in BG3 have a special mechanic associated with them, that is only accessible via certain items. For Radiant Damage, this mechanic is called Radiating Orb.

Radiating Orb is a condition that can be applied to enemies, and the more turns of Radiating Orb you apply to them, the stronger the effects become.

For every turn remaining of Radiating Orb, the target will suffer a -1 penalty to their Attack Rolls. They also emit a bright light around them, which is useful in dark environments (unless your party is heavily built around stealth). This means that a character specialising in Radiant damage and the Radiating Orb mechanic can be very useful for debuffing enemies, making them considerably less threatening to your party.

Now that we have explained Radiating Orb, we will begin with the list of items that play into this mechanic.

The Sacred Star

The Sacred Star is a very rare Morningstar weapon, making for a great weapon option for Cleric Builds or Paladin Builds who want to specialise with Radiant damage. It can give several bonuses to the wielder:

  • 1d4 extra Radiant damage on each hit
  • Inflicts 1 turn of Radiating Orb on hit
  • Can Turn Undead who are hit with the weapon
  • Can use Dawnburst Strike, dealing bonus Radiant Damage and possibly Blinding enemies.

While only being able to inflict 1 turn of Radiating Orb per hit means that this item isn’t as good as some others on this list at stacking up that debuff, its other perks make this a really good weapon that’s definitely worth obtaining.

The Sacred Star can be purchased from Vicar Humbletoes in Stormshore Tabernacle, Lower City (Act III).

Fabricated Arbalest

The Fabricated Arbalest is a very rare Heavy Crossbow. As mentioned in our Cleric build guide, the Cleric typically lacks a reliable damaging Cantrip and is therefore best off replacing their use of a Cantrip with a strong ranged weapon. If you have Proficiency with Heavy Crossbows on your Cleric, then the Fabricated Arbalest is one of the best options in the game.

Like all Heavy Crossbows, the Fabricated Arbalest allows you to Brace your weapon once per Short Rest, increasing damage for that turn. It also lets you cast Illuminating Shot as a Bonus Action, which inflicts 1 turn of Radiating Orb. As a final bonus, you also get the Dazzling Ray action, which is kind of like a weaker version of Sunbeam, damaging and possibly Blinding all enemies in the path of the beam. You can recast it for up to 10 turns thereafter but risk Burning yourself each time you do so.

This is the ideal ranged weapon for a character with a Radiant-focused build, as long as you have Proficiency with Heavy Crossbows.

The Fabricated Arbalest can be looted from Enver Gortash in Wyrm’s Rock Fortress, in Act III.

Luminous Armour

The Luminous Armour is an uncommon Medium Armour chest piece that lets the wearer inflict Radiating Orb in a small AOE.

When wearing this armour, dealing Radiant Damage will inflict 1 turn of the Radiating Orb condition in a 3 metre radius. This is great for debuffing the Attack Rolls of small groups of enemies (or large groups if you manage to get them tightly packed into a small area). This works great on a Paladin Build because of its melee focused playstyle. You could also place this on a melee Cleric Build.

It’s possible to obtain the Luminous Armour quite early in the game, and with an Armour Class of 15 it makes for great early game armour for anyone wishing to try out the Radiating Orb mechanic.

You can find the Luminous Armour in an opulent chest in the Selunite Outpost in the Underdark (Act I). This is the fortified area that you arrive in when entering the Underdark via the Shattered Sanctum entrance.

Luminous Gloves

The Luminous Gloves are uncommon gloves with a very similar effect to the Luminous Armour.

When the wearer of these gloves deals Radiant damage, they inflict 1 turn of Radiating Orb to the target. This synergises very well with Luminous Armour and the Sacred Star – using all three will allow you to inflict 3 turns of Radiating Orb on hit, along with 1 turn to other nearby enemies, giving you some serious debuffing potential with a Cleric or Paladin character.

The Luminous Gloves are found inside the Potter’s Chest in the Ruined Battlefield area of Act II.

Coruscation Ring

The Coruscation Ring is an uncommon ring that lets the wearer stack up even more turns of the Radiating Orb debuff.

Unlike the other items on this list, this item does not only trigger on Radiant damage – however since it plays into the same Radiating Orb mechanic, it’s definitely worth including here. Whenever the wearer of this ring deals spell damage while illuminated by a light source (stood in a Clear or Lightly Obscured) area, they inflict 2 turns of Radiating Orb.

Despite only being Uncommon, this item can be really powerful – using it with a multi-target spell like Magic Missile or Scorching Ray can allow you to apply the debuff multiple times on the same turn – upcasting Magic Missile for example adds an extra projectile for each level you upcast it by, and this spell cannot miss its target. With this method, you can turn your character into a complete debuffing machine. The BG3 Wizard Build could make a good combo with Magic Missile and the ring. And while on its own the Coruscation Ring does not synergise with the above items, the next item on this list will enable that synergy and supercharge your debuffing ability even more!

The Coruscation Ring is fairly well-hidden. To find it, you need to gain access to the cellar of Last Light Inn in Act II. There is a set of double doors that are blocked by a spider web and some crates. Beyond those doors, you can find a cracked wall, which must be broken down. After that, you are looking for a chest which will contain the item.

Callous Glow Ring

The Callous Glow Ring is an uncommon ring that lets you deal bonus Radiant damage to enemies in certain situations. While this item does not interact with the Radiating Orb mechanic by itself, it synergises with the Coruscation Ring and other items on this list in a very powerful way.

This ring will deal 2 bonus Radiant Damage when attacking any enemies that are illuminated by a light source. With this ring equipped, it enables a very strong synergy with the other items on this list that can impose absolutely crippling Radiating Orb debuffs on enemies. The synergy works in the following manner:

  1. Make sure both your character and the target are illuminated by a light source
  2. Cast a spell like Magic Missile on the target, which will apply multiple stacks of Radiating Orb via the Coruscation Ring
  3. The target will also receive several iterations of 2 Radiant damage from the Callous Glow Ring
  4. Each instance of bonus Radiant Damage will then trigger other items on this list if you have them equipped – namely the Luminous Gloves & Armour, resulting in even more applications of Radiating Orb.

With all four items combined, even a level 1 cast of Magic Missile can inflict 9 stacks of Radiating Orb if all of the above conditions are met, giving the target a -9 penalty on their Attack Rolls, and if that’s not enough then you can repeat it again next turn. This can make even powerful boss enemies almost useless in combat, turning them into little more than target practice for your party.

Magic Missile can be learned by a Wizard Build, Sorcerer Build or Bard Build. So if you decide to set up this combo, we recommend picking one of these classes.

The Callous Glow Ring can be found in an opulent chest in the vault room of the Gauntlet of Shar, near Balthazar in Act 2.

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