Best BG3 Sorcadin Build – Sorcerer Paladin Mutliclass Build

SORCADIN PROS

SORCADIN CONS

BG3 Multiclass Explainer:

• How it works: New classes can be added as you level up. They are added on a level-by-level basis.
• Example: If you are a level 6 Paladin and decide to add 1 Sorcerer level, you will only get the features of Sorcerer level 1.
• Example 2: If you want the features of a level 6 Paladin and Sorcerer, you need to be max level and add 6 levels of each class.

Pro Tip: It’s usually best to choose subclasses that work together easily. For example, the Paladin and Sorcerer go well together because they both use Charisma as their spellcasting attribute.

Paladin

• The Paladin has proficiency with a wide array of weapons and can wear any armour in the game, making them excellent in melee. We’ll use the Oath of Vengeance subclass to unlock Vow of Enmity, Hold Person and Misty Step.
• Paladins also unlock powerful Smite spells, infusing their weapon with elemental damage in exchange for a Spell Slot.
• We’ll take six Paladin levels, sufficient to unlock their Extra Attack bonus and the Aura of Protection, giving a bonus to Saving Throws.

Sorcerer

• Our main class is Sorcerer. We’re using the Shadow Magic subclass to summon the shadow hound companion, who will help you in melee by distracting and pinning down enemies. But the other subclasses work fine, too.
• The Sorcerer allows you to buff your spells with Metamagic, for example, increasing their range or success chance.
• We’ll use 6 levels of the Sorcerer, just enough to unlock the main subclass feature (the shadow hound, in our case).

Sorcadin Levelling Progress Overview

• Level 1: Paladin 1 (Oath of Vengeance)
• Level 2: Paladin 2
• Level 3: Paladin 3
• Level 4: Paladin 4
• Level 5: Paladin 5
• Level 6: Paladin 6
• Level 7: Sorcerer 1 (Shadow Magic)
• Level 8: Sorcerer 2
• Level 9: Sorcerer 3
• Level 10: Sorcerer 4
• Level 11: Sorcerer 5
• Level 12: Sorcerer 6

Core Paladin Features

• Item Proficiency – Martial Weapons, All Armour, Shields
• Channel Oath – You gain one Channel Oath charge and a Channel Oath ability derived from your chosen subclass.
• Lay on Hands – You can use Lay on Hands charges to heal allies who are within touching distance.
• Subclass Choice – You must choose your Paladin subclass.

We’ll explain what to choose for these options below.

Soldier Background

 Athletics

A Strength skill that makes you better at pushing characters and increases your resistance to enemies’ pushes. This is important because it’s one of the only skills in the game with a combat impact.

 Intimidation

A Charisma-based Skill that will sometimes appear as a Dialogue option, allowing you scare NPCs into doing what you want.

Important Tips:

• The “Even Number” Rule: In Baldur’s Gate 3, only even numbers (12, 14, 16) increase your ability modifier. This means an 11 is functionally the same as a 10, so we aim for even numbers to maximize efficiency.
• Concentration is Key: Many important Sorcerer and Paladin spells (like  Hold Person or Haste) require Concentration. A high Constitution helps ensure you don’t lose your spell just because you took a hit.

Oath of Vengeance Features

•  Inquisitor’s Might – You or an ally’s weapon deals bonus Radiant Damage equal to your Charisma Modifier for the next 2 turns. Costs a Channel Oath charge and a Bonus Action.
• More features will be unlocked as you level up.

Paladin Actions

 Divine Smite

• Infuse your weapon attack with 2d8 Radiant Damage (3d8 against fiends and undead).
• While technically not a spell, using this still costs a Level 1 Spell Slot.

Fighting Style

You can choose one Fighting Style to boost your character.

For the time being, we’re using Great Weapon Fighting, which will automatically reroll damage dice that land on 1 or 2 when you have a two-handed weapon equipped.

Paladin Spells

You can now learn some Paladin spells and gain two Spell Slots to cast them with.

We recommend choosing the following spells:

Divine Favour

• Your prayer empowers you with divine radiance. Your weapons deal an additional 1-4 Radiant Damage.
• Requires Concentration.
• This Spell only consumes a Bonus Action, so you can attack your opponent on the same turn after casting the spell.

 Command

• Attempt to force the target to carry out a command on their turn. Some useful options include telling them to stay put and do nothing, drop their weapon, or fall to the ground.
• While this only lasts for 1 turn, it doesn’t require Concentration, so it can be safely used in conjunction with any spell in the game.

Thunderous Smite

• Infuses your weapon with extra Thunder Damage.
• Pushes your target 3m away and possibly knocks them Prone.
• If you miss, your spell slot and Bonus Action are not consumed.
• You can sometimes use this to knock enemies off ledges or cliffs for extra fall damage, potentially one-shotting them.

 Wrathful Smite

• Infuses your weapon with extra Psychic Damage, possibly Frightening your target.
• Good for locking down an enemy for a while.
• If you miss, your spell slot and Bonus Action are not consumed.

 Searing Smite

• Your weapon is imbued with heat, dealing additional Fire Damage on impact.

Paladin Features

 Divine Health

• Gives your Paladin immunity to disease.
• Disease statuses are quite rare in BG3, but they do occasionally appear.

Oath of Vengeance Features

Your Oath of Vengeance subclass grants you two new features at Level 3:

 Abjure Enemy

• Frighten an enemy, giving them Disadvantage on Attack Rolls and Ability Checks, and preventing them from moving.
• Very useful for locking down a dangerous or annoying enemy.

 Vow of Enmity

• Gain Advantage on Attack Rolls against an enemy.
• Makes your attacks much more accurate, which is especially useful against enemies with high armour.

Oath of Vengeance Spells

Your Oath of Vengeance subclass also gives you two spells, which are automatically learned and prepared (added to your action bar).

 Bane

• Applies a 1d4 penalty on Attack Rolls and Saving Throws for the targets.
• They can resist the debuff with a Charisma Saving Throw.

 Hunter’s Mark

• Place a mark on the target. The marked creature takes 1d6 extra damage from your attacks.
• If the target dies before the spell ends, you can reapply it to a new creature without spending another spell slot.
• Requires Concentration to maintain; casting another Concentration Spell will immediately remove the effect.

New Paladin Spell

You can choose one more Paladin spell to unlock. Best choice:

 Heroism

• A very situational spell that gives the target 5 Temporary HP per turn, and immunity to Frightened.
• Requires Concentration and lasts for up to 10 turns.
• Later on, you can upcast it to increase the number of beneficiaries.
• A good spell for fights with frightening enemies.

New Paladin Spell

Choose one more Paladin spell to unlock. We already got the best options so we’re a bit short on choices at the moment. The best one is probably:

 Protection from Evil and Good

• Prevents Aberrations, Celestials, Elementals, Fiends, Fey or Undead from afflicting you with Charmed, Frightened or Possessed, and gives them Disadvantage when they attack you.
• While there aren’t many opportunities to use this spell, it can make some fights ten times easier (like the Harpies in Act I), and protects your party from some forms of mind control.

New Feat

You can choose a Feat to make your Sorcadin better in combat.

For now, we are going to use Great Weapon Master, which gives you two bonuses:

• Landing a Critical Hit or fatal hit on an enemy with a two-handed weapon allows you to make an additional attack with your Bonus Action.
• You can toggle the All In feature on or off. When it is on, your two-handed weapon has a -5 Attack Roll penalty but +10 bonus damage. Good for quickly killing weaker enemies.

Later on, we will respec to replace this Feat. But for the time being, it’s going to give you lots of extra damage and momentum.

Paladin Features

Extra Attack

• Each Action can now be used for two weapon attacks, instead of one.

New Paladin Spell

You now have access to Second-Level spells, and can choose one to unlock. Our recommendation is:

 Branding Smite

• Adds extra Radiant Damage to your weapon attack.
• If successful, it prevents the enemy from turning Invisible, as long as you maintain Concentration.

Oath of Vengeance Spells

Your Oath of Vengeance subclass also gives you two spells, which are automatically learned and prepared (added to your action bar).

 Misty Step

• Allows you to teleport to a visible and unoccupied space within 18 metres.
• Great for quickly jumping into melee or for escaping if things go wrong.
• Only uses a Bonus Action, so you can make an attack or cast another spell on the same turn that you use this.

 Hold Person

• A powerful stun that completely paralyses the target. They will keep rolling Wisdom Saving Throws to try to break free.
• Melee attacks against the victim will be guaranteed critical hits.
• Can only be cast on humanoid targets.

New Paladin Spell

Choose one of these Paladin spells to unlock:

 Aid

• Increases the maximum HP of all nearby allies by 5 HP per Spell Slot Level.
• Lasts until the next Long Rest. You should cast it immediately after every Long Rest.
• If you have a Cleric in your party, they should use it instead because they can upcast the spell to a higher level for more max HP.

 Lesser Restoration

• Cures a disease from a character, or removes the Poisoned, Paralysed or Blinded debuffs.
• Get this if Aid is taken by a Cleric in your party.

Paladin Feature

 Aura of Protection

• You and allies within 3m get a bonus to Saving Throws equal to your Charisma Modifier.
• Disappears if your Sorcadin is incapacitated.

Sorcerer Spellcasting

Unlock two first-level Sorcerer spells to get started. We recommend these choices:

Thunderwave

• A powerful linear AoE (Area of Effect) that deals Thunder Damage and knocks enemies back.
• Great at knocking enemies backwards or off cliffs.

 Ray of Sickness

• Deals Poison Damage and potentially poisons the target.
•  Poisoned enemies have Disadvantage on Attack Rolls and Ability Checks.

Feel free to change these spells if you prefer other options. Neither of these are essential for the build.

Sorcerer Cantrips

You can choose four Cantrips to learn.

 Booming Blade

• Perform a weapon attack. Leaves a status on the enemy that deals Thunder Damage if they move on their next turn.
• This will be your go-to Cantrip most of the time.

 Fire Bolt

• Deals Fire Damage from range.
• The best ranged cantrip available to us.

 Bone Chill

• Deals Necrotic Damage and prevents the target from healing.
• Undead targets get Disadvantage on Attack Rolls.

 Bursting Sinew

• Cause a corpse to explode, dealing Piercing Damage in a small area

Shadow Magic Features

 Eyes of the Dark

• You can see through non-magical darkness up to a distance of 24 metres.

 Strength of the Grave

• After reaching 0 HP, restore 1 HP instead of being Downed.
• You can do this once per Long Rest.

 Distant Spell

• Increases the range of the spell by 50%.
• Melee-only spells get a range of 9m.

 Twinned Spell

• Spells that only target 1 creature can target an additional creature.
• Costs 1 Sorcery Point per Spell Slot level used. Cantrips also cost 1 Sorcery Point.

New Sorcerer Spell

 Magic Missile

• Fires 3 projectiles. The projectiles cannot miss their target.
• Each projectile deals 2-5 Force Damage.
• Later on, you can upcast the spell for additional projectiles.

Metamagic – Choose 1:

 Heightened Spell

• Targets of spells that require Saving Throws have  Disadvantage on their first Saving Throw.
• Costs 3 Sorcery Points per spell.

New Sorcerer Spell

 Shadow Blade

• Summons an equippable Shortsword.
• It deals 2d8 Psychic Damage.
• You can upcast the spell to get more damage on the sword (highly recommended).
• From now on, this will be our primary weapon.
• Very Important: To properly utilise this weapon, respec your Sorcadin now and make the following changes:
  • Change your Fighting Style to Duelling
  • Change your first Feat from Great Weapon Master to Savage Attacker.

Shadow Magic Features:

 Darkness

• Create an area of magical darkness.
• Most creatures cannot see into or out of the darkness, and are Blinded while they are within it.

 Eyes of the Dark: Darkness

• Cast the  Darkness spell with 2 Sorcery Points instead of a Spell Slot.
• Also allows you to see through magical darkness for 10 turns.

New Sorcerer Spell

Scorching Ray

• Fire three bolts of fire in rapid succession.
• Each bolt does 2-12 Fire Damage.
• Later on, you can upcast the spell to fire more bolts.

Choose a Feat – You can choose one more Feat for your Sorcadin.

• I recommend choosing Ability Improvement and putting both of the points into Strength.
• This will boost your weapon accuracy and damage slightly.

New Sorcerer Spell

Fireball

• Deal up to 48 Fire Damage.
• Large AoE.
• Upcast to increase the maximum damage.

New Shadow Magic Features

 Hound of Ill Omen

• Summon Nimbus to help you in combat. You can control him directly.
• It costs 3 Sorcery Points, and can be summoned once per Short Rest.
• Can place an elemental Omen on an enemy. When the enemy takes the correct type of elemental damage, you restore 1 Sorcery Point.
• When taking any non-Radiant damage, Nimbus can spend his Reaction to spawn a weaker copy of himself.
• The copies of Nimbus only last for a few turns and are AI-controlled, but they can also spawn further copies, potentially leading to a chain reaction of summoned dog minions.

New Sorcerer Spell

 Lightning Bolt

• Deals 8d6 Lightning Damage in a large linear AoE.
• Damage is doubled against Wet enemies.
• Enemies will attempt a Dexterity Saving Throw. The final damage is halved if they are successful.

Attacking Items:

• Helmet of Arcane Acuity – Makes your spells much more likely to succeed once you’ve built up a few stacks of the Arcane Acuity buff.
• Gauntlets of Hill Giant Strength – Sets your Strength to 23, giving you a Strength Modifier of +6. This boosts your weapon attacks and accuracy as much as possible.
• Broodmother’s Revenge – Gives you extra Poison damage when you get healed. Once you have the Ring of Regeneration, this is automatically activated every turn.
• Shadow Blade – Deals a great amount of Psychic Damage and has Advantage when attacking obscured enemies. When possible, combine it with  Eyes of the Dark: Darkness to turn the tables on enemies.

Defensive Items:

• Cloak of Displacement – Makes you much harder to hit with Attack Rolls.
• Adamantine Splint Armour – One of the best Heavy Armours in the game, reducing all incoming damage and making you immune to Critical Hits.
• Ring of Regeneration – Gives you a small amount of healing every turn.
• Ketheric’s Shield – Increases your Armour Class and Spell Save DC.

Mobility & Utility:

• Helldusk Boots – Protects you from Difficult Terrain and enemy actions that attempt to forcibly move you. You can teleport using  Hellcrawler
• Band of the Mystic Scoundrel – Allows you to cast Enchantment and Illusion spells with a Bonus Action. Great for casting a debuff or stun spell like Hold Person after making your weapon attacks.

 Concentrated Blast

• Allows you to deal extra damage to a target when you are Concentrating on a spell, potentially also healing if the target is Concentrating too.

 Cull the Weak

• When you reduce a creature’s hit points below a certain threshold, this power instantly kills it and deals 1-4 Psychic Damage to nearby enemies.
• This is particularly effective when engaging groups of weaker foes, enabling you to thin their numbers rapidly.

 Fly

• This can be used to reach hard-to-get-to places or change positions in combat.
• Use this to keep your Sorcadin safe from enemy attacks, so your Concentration won’t get disrupted as easily.

 Black Hole

• This power creates an area-based effect that pulls in and slows targets.
• It’s particularly useful for crowd control, allowing you to cluster enemies together for area-of-effect attacks or to isolate them from vulnerable allies.

Pro Tip: Try getting the Haste buff from a Potion of Speed or the Haste spell (lets you perform 2 Actions on one turn), then casting Black Hole and then Hunger of Hadar to cause a world of pain for a group of enemies.

 Psionic Backlash

• This is a top-tier reaction from the Illithid Powers skill tree in BG3.
• This allows you to deal psychic damage when a nearby enemy casts a spell.
• This is especially useful if the target is casting a Concentration Spell.
• The damage from Psionic Backlash can immediately break their Concentration, ending the spell’s effects.