Baldur’s Gate 3 Sorcerer and Subclasses (Overview Guide)

Everything You Should Know About the Baldur’s Gate 3 Sorcerer and its Subclasses

Sorcerers are one of the 12 classes available in Baldur’s Gate 3 and are spellcasting powerhouses known for their innate magical abilities and dynamic spellcasting.

Unlike Wizards, who study spellbooks, or Warlocks, who attain magical abilities from their Patron, Sorcerers draw magic from their very essence, making them versatile and unpredictable casters.

Sorcerers will learn fewer total spells than their mage counterparts but they do not have to prepare their spells. This means you’ll have access to every spell you know, affording you the perfect choice for any given moment.

In this class overview, we’ll be covering all of the Baldur’s Gate 3 Sorcerer’s pros and cons, mechanics, and subclasses.

Find out where the Sorcerer ranks in our Baldur’s Gate 3 class tier list.

Pros and Cons

Pros

Best resource economy in the game with Sorcery Points converting into Spell Slots.
Charisma as a main ability score allows you to often problem solve without altercations
Storm Sorcery is one of the best subclass in Baldur’s Gate 3

Cons

Limited spell list compared to a Wizard, but no preparing spells so you have access to all of your spells during a fight.
Positioning is critical as survival can be challenging if you’re the “face” of your party and things go wrong as you have limited defensive capabilities.
Requires preparation to ensure impact at all levels due to limited variety of spells.

Sorcerer Mechanics

Sorcerers know spells based on their innate magical powers and, unlike Wizards, are somewhat limited to the total number of known spells. For this reason, consider choosing spells that suit your playstyle and the needs of your party.

sorcerer character select

Similar to the Wizard and unlike the Warlock (who replenishes with Short Rests), the Sorcerer relies on Long Rests to refill their slots but they do have some additional flexibility with Metamagic exchanges.

Spellcasting, Metamagic, and Sorcery Points

create spellslot

As you progress in Sorcerer levels you will gain access to Metamagic and Sorcery Points.

Metamagic allows you to modify and enhance the spells you cast while Sorcery Points represent the amount of innate magical ability you have.

create sorcery points

Similarly to Spell Slots, Sorcery Points are restored after a long rest and are consumed to alter your spells.

With Sorcery Points you are able to:

Convert Sorcery Points into a Spell Slot
Convert a Spell Slot into Sorcery Points
Activate your Metamagic Options

Metamagic is where the true power of the Sorcerer comes into play as the ability to alter spells can completely change the course of an encounter. The Metamagic Options in Baldur’s Gate 3 include:

Metamagic Options Available at Level 2 and beyond:

Careful Spell: Allows Sorcerers to ensure their spell does not damage their allies.
Distant Spell: Allows Sorcerers to increase the range of their spell.
Extended Spell: Allows Sorcerers to extend the duration of the magical effect of their spell.
Twinned Spell: Allows Sorcerers to target two creatures with a spell instead of one.

Metamagic Options Available at Level 3 and beyond:

Heightened Spell: Allows Sorcerers to empower the magical effects of their spell.
Quickened Spell: Allows Sorcerers to cast multiple spells in a single turn.
Subtle Spell: Allows Sorcerers to cast spells while silenced.

metamagic

The Sorcerer’s Party Role

In Combat

As a Sorcerer you would ideally be behind a frontline tank since you have fewer armor proficiencies as well as a smaller health total. You’ll most likely spend your turn casting ranged spells to maintain distance from your enemies in combat. Be mindful of your spell slots and sorcery points as they only reset during a long rest.

Prioritize which spell to cast based on the impact it will bring to the battlefield. This includes leveraging your Metamagic abilities. Sorcerers can be the single most impactful Mage class in Baldur’s Gate 3, so plan ahead when faced with a combat encounter.

While you will likely have damage-dealing spells, you may also have spells to help provide allies with buffs, healing effects or you may even be able to apply crowd control to your enemies providing your party with advantage on their attacks.

draconic sorcerer splash

Out of Combat

As mentioned before, the Sorcerer’s primary ability score is Charisma, allowing you to be a great “face” of the party. You will naturally be better at the following skill checks because of your high Charisma:

Deception
Intimidation
Performance
Persuasion

For this reason, you may find yourself to be the best team member to talk the party out of a tricky situation. Be cautious though because if you’re unsuccessful, there is a chance you will end up in the center of conflict, which is not necessarily the ideal positioning for a Sorcerer.

In addition to skill checks, you can cast your spells outside of combat, so consider all of the various applications of your magic as you progress through Baldur’s Gate 3.

Baldur’s Gate 3 Sorcerer Subclasses

During character creation, you choose your Sorcerer’s Origin, which defines your magical lineage. This is ultimately the innate source of your magical powers and is referred to as your Subclass.

sorcerer subclass select

There are three subclass choices for the Sorcerer in Baldur’s Gate 3, each enabling new features and mechanics for your Sorcerer:

Draconic Bloodline
Wild Magic
Storm Sorcery

Here’s a breakdown of the three Sorcerer subclasses and their playstyles.

Draconic Bloodline

Draconic Bloodline provides your Sorcerer with dragon-like powers and enhanced defensive abilities, something which Sorcerers drastically need. If you select this Sorcerer Origin, your innate magical abilities comes from the dragon-type of your choosing, resulting in the following:

Level	Feature	Description
1	Draconic Resilience	In addition to increased Hit Points, you also receive a boost to your base armor class (from 10 to 13) while not wearing armor making yourself 15% less likely to take damage.
1	Draconic Ancestry	Your choice of type of dragon, and the associated damage type, as well as a free spell added to your spell list.
6	Elemental Affinity	Increased damage when attacking with the type of damage associated to your draconic ancestry Resistance to the type of damage associated to your draconic ancestry.
11	Flight	You can fly at will using your movement speed as your flight distance.

Wild Magic

The Wild Magic Sorcerer Origin provides you with surges of incredible powerful magic which is entirely unpredictable and is itching to burst out of you at any moment.

If you select this Sorcerer Origin, your innate magical abilities comes from the forces of chaos resulting in the following:

Level	Feature	Description
1	Wild Magic	Each time you cast a spell of level 1 or higher, your wild magic might surge resulting in a random magical effect.
1	Tides of Chaos	An activatable ability to provide you advantage on your next attack, ability check or saving throw. Doing so will increase the chance of your wild magic surge.
6	Bend Luck	Spend Sorcery points to give a boost or reduce your targets next attack, ability check or saving throw.
11	Controlled Chaos	When an enemy casts a spell, you may spend your reaction to cause a wild magic surge to occur immediately next to that enemy.

Storm Sorcery

The Storm Sorcery Origin allows you to harness the power of storms and unleash it upon your enemies. If you select this Sorcerer Origin, your innate magical abilities come from the mightiest storms in Faerun resulting in the following:

Level	Feature	Description
1	Tempestuous Magic	After you cast a level 1 spell, or higher, you may fly as a bonus action without provoking attacks of opportunity.
6	Heart of the Storm	When you cast a level 1 spell, or higher, dealing Lightning or Thunder damage you cause a small storm at the location of your spells dealing the same type of damage to characters within the radius. You are resistant to both Lightning and Thunder damage.
11	Storm’s Fury	When an enemy hits you with a melee attack, you deal Lightning damage to the attacker and push them back in a straight line if they fail a strength saving throw.

So, which Sorcerer subclass should you play?

If you’re new to the Sorcerer class or Baldur’s Gate 3, Draconic Bloodline is the recommended Sorcerer Origin to select. It offers you some critical defensive abilities as well as amplifying your choice of elemental damage.

If you’re looking for unpredictability and anticipate living within chaos, Wild Magic is the Sorcerer Origin for you. Recommended for a player who is looking for random insanity. You should expect the unexpected and your enemies won’t know what hit them!

If you’re interested in the elemental magic related to storms, the Storm Sorcery Origin provides some of the best subclass features for all classes within Baldur’s Gate 3. You’ll have mobility, crowd control and the opportunity to inflict some serious damage to your foes on the battlefield.

So, which Sorcerer subclass should you play?

Conclusion

Mastering the Baldur’s Gate 3 Sorcerer class requires a blend of strategic thinking and adaptability. They can be extremely flexible with how they can cast their spells but their challenge continues to be longevity and survival.

The best Sorcerers will utilize all of their abilities and skills to completely neutralize opponents both in and out of combat. Those players likely have a deep understanding of both the Sorcerer class and the game mechanics of Baldur’s Gate 3.

That being said, Sorcerer may be the most enjoyable mage class considering the potential for what they can do with their Metamagic. Embrace the chaos of magic and let your innate power shine!

Baldur's Gate 3 Classes