Best Baldur’s Gate 3 Cold (Frost) Build

This guide focuses on the essential aspects of a Cold build in Baldur’s Gate 3 (BG3) and how to use those powers to your advantage.

The Cold Build in Baldur’s Gate 3 focuses on dealing Cold damage mostly by casting spells. You have to focus on acquiring the best cold spells and use them in your turns to deal damage. The best class for casting cold spells is Sorcerer as there are various choices among all 6 Level Spells. Moreover, another essential feature that you need for this build is to get an ability to scatter water. Doing so will allow the Sorcerer to deal extensive damage and crowd control using powerful spells like Cone of Cold and Ice Storm. Slowing down and freezing enemies is great for crowd control which you can achieve easily with this build. Aiming to utilize both your actions and bonus actions at every turn will allow you to deal potential damage.

With our Cold Build in Baldur’s Gate 3, we will guide you in picking the best classes/subclasses, the ability score, complete level progression, the best companions to pick, weapons, armor, and consumables.

This build page has been updated for the patch 7 version of Baldur’s Gate 3.

Everything About the Cold in Baldur’s Gate 3

The Cold Build in Baldur’s Gate 3 focuses on dealing high damage to enemies by focusing on cold elemental damage. One of the best things about this build is that there are several cold spells and cantrips to acquire as the Sorcerer. You can use Cantrips like Ray of Frost, Shocking Grasp, and Firebolt which are very powerful in the early game. They all deal high damage and additionally, acquiring the Ice Knife (spell) will certainly increase the potential of dealing cold damage. Moreover, if you are familiar with the Sorcerer, Wizard, or Cleric class, this build is very simple to make and use.

However, the Cold Build solely depends on element (cold) for potential damage. Moreover, as the Sorcerer cannot scatter water directly, you must multiclass into Cleric to gain the ability to spread water in an area. This will take our 1 level into Cleric and the rest of 11 levels to Sorcerer.

Cold Build Pros	Cold Build Pros
High Damage Cantrip	Item Dependent
Powerful Early	Element Dependent
Simple Gameplay	Must Multiclass

Features and Mechanics of Cold

The following list presents all the essential Tactician Build Cold Mechanics and Features in Baldur’s Gate 3:

• Class: Sorcerer and Cleric
• Subclass: Draconic Bloodline and Tempest Domain
• Background: Entertainer
• Skills: Deception and Persuasion
• Ability Score
  • Strength: 8
  • Dexterity:16
  • Constitution: 14
  • Intelligence: 8
  • Wisdom: 10
  • Charisma: 17
• Saving Throw: Charisma and Dexterity
• Armour Proficiency: Clothing, Light Armour, and Shields
• Weapon Proficiency: Dagger, Quarterstaff, Light Crossbow

How to Play Cold Build

The Cold Build is among some of the simple builds in Baldur’s Gate 3. It is easy to make and use as it mainly requires a strong spellcaster with cold elemental damage potential. The Sorcerer with Draconic Bloodline is the best spellcaster in Baldur’s Gate 3. Upon selecting the subclass, choose the Draconic Ancestry (White) to start with a cold elemental spell. Your main playstyle with the Cold Build in early game is slowing down enemies and crowd control. It is best to hire a hard-hitter companion in your team to deal with the inflicted targets in the area. As you level up, you will unlock more powerful spells, that both deal extensive cold damage and great for crowd control.

Below are some general tips on how to play the best Cold build in BG3 Tactician:

• Loot Everything: You will need a lot of gold to buy consumables, potions, and ammunition so loot and sell constantly.
• Crafting: Elixirs and potions are vital, and you need to purchase materials when trading for crafting.
• Reach Level 6: Spend the early part of the game completing every quest to reach level 6 where your power dramatically increases.
• Sell Often: Your carrying capacity will be limited so sell often, and store excessive items in your traveler’s chest.
• Stealth: Start combat in stealth if at all possible to trigger the Surprise status effect.
• Consider Illithid Powers: While it can come with an altered appearance, the powers are powerful and can help you.
• Oils + Elixiris: Combine both oils/coatings and Elixir during combat for a dual benefit.
• Persuasion: Try to avoid combat through dialogue if possible.

Character Creation

Race Choice for Cold

Wood Half-Elf is the best choice for a Cold Build because it gives shield proficiency, Darkvision, and the highest movement speed per turn in BG3. A secondary choice is the Human because you gain increased carrying capacity, skill proficiency, and shield proficiency as well. We highly suggest taking the Wood Elf due to its movement speed and default shield proficiency which is helpful early in Act 1.

Wood Half-Elf	Human
Darkvision	Shield Proficiency
Shield Proficiency	Carry Capacity
High Movement	Skill Proficiency

The Sorcerer’s racial choice will not influence ability score, as race will get a +2 and +1 to spend regardless. This frees your race choice up to not completely hinder yourself based on ability score, but race features. Each of these races offers unique advantages that can enhance your combat prowess, survivability, or utility. Additionally, consider the roleplaying opportunities and character concepts that resonate with you.

Here is the best race choice for Cold Build in Baldur’s Gate 3:

1. Wood Half-Elf
2. Human
3. Halfling

Cold Classes and Subclasses

For the Cold Build Classes and Subclasses, go along with the following choices.

• Sorcerer: Choose Draconic Bloodline (subclass), because you do not need mage armour using clothing.
  • For Dragon Ancestry, select draconic ancestry white (cold). It grants a free spell.
• Cleric: Choose the Tempest Domain (subclass) to gain Create or Destroy Water. Add only 1 level in Cleric, the rest of the leveling goes to your main Sorcerer class.

Draconic Bloodline is the best subclass for the Sorcerer because you gain access to Draconic Resilience, Draconic armour class, and Draconic Ancestor.  This allows you to focus on a specific elemental magic type and also have higher survivability. As we are focusing on a Cold Build, you can select the White Ancestry for Cold elemental magic.

The following is a list of the Sorcerer Subclasses for Baldur’s Gate 3:

• Draconic Bloodline: descendants from dragons, gain breath weapon, resistance to damage, and the ability to add their Charisma modifier to their AC.
• Wild Magic: unpredictable, wild surges of power and spell casting.
• Storm Sorcery: Control the weather, create powerful storms, fly, and deal lightning damage with spells.

Recommended Background and Skills for Cold Build

Entertainer is the Best background for the Best Baldur’s Gate 3 Cold Build. This choice mostly influences roleplaying and dialogue options aspects and allows you to create unique characters when playing the Cold Build. Additional choices are:

1. Entertainer: Proficiency in Acrobatics (dexterity) and Performance(charisma). You live to sway and subvert your audience, engaging common crowds and high society alike. 
2. Charlatan: Proficiency in Deception (charisma) and Sleight of Hand (dexterity). You’re an expert in manipulation, prone to exaggeration, and more than happy to profit from it. A Charlatan companion is Astarion.
3. Guild Artisan: Proficiency in Insight (wisdom) and Persuasion(charisma). Your skill in a particular craft has earned you membership in a mercantile guild, offering privileges and protection while engaging in your art.

Deception and Persuasion are the best skills for the Best Baldur’s Gate 3 Cold Build because they complement your class abilities and enhance your effectiveness in various situations. In Baldur’s Gate 3, skills represent the abilities and proficiencies of your character that allow them to perform various actions and interact with the game world. Skills are associated with specific attributes and are used to determine the success or effectiveness of certain actions or abilities. They can be edited during character creation or with companions, during respec or reroll screen.

Here are the skills for Best Baldur’s Gate 3 Cold Build.

1. Deception – Charisma skill that makes you more likely to deceive in conversation dialogue.
2. Persuasion – Charisma Skill used entirely for dialogue Ability Checks.

Ability Score

The Best Ability Score for Cold Build is 17 Charisma, 16 Dexterity, and 14 Constitution.  Charisma is your spell-casting modifier; the more you have, the greater damage and the better chance to hit a target. Dexterity helps with Armour Class, boosting the chance of not being hit. Lastly, Constitution is needed for a high health pool.

Below is the best ability score for a Cold Build in Baldur’s Gate 3:

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

You can increase your ability score via a quest in Act 1, Act 2, and Act 3. Make sure to check out our Permanent bonus guide on how you can boost your ability score through quests.

Illithid Powers For Cold

The best Illithid Powers for a Cold build are Luck of the Farm Realms, Black Hole, and Cull of the Weak. Luck of the Farm helps with critical hits and burst damage and, combined with Cull of the Weak, can trigger AOE damage passively. Black Hole requires you to take the Astral Tadpole in Act 2, but it sucks in 5 enemies, slows them, and can be recast for free. This is helpful in certain large-scale boss fights with many enemies. Below are the best Illithid Tadpole Powers for the Cold build in Baldur’s Gate 3:

• Favourable Beginnings: The first Attack roll or Ability check you make against any target gains a bonus equal to your Proficiency Bonus. Helpful passively boosts damage based on your level.
• Luck of the Far Realms: When you make a successful Attack roll against a foe, you can change that attack into a Critical Hit. It requires Favourable Beginnings and is used once per long rest.
• Black Hole: Summon a black hole that pulls in up to 5 nearby enemies and potentially Slows them. Requires Displace or Psionic Dominance.
• Cull of the Weak: When you bring a creature down to fewer hit points than your number of evolved illithid powers, it dies and all nearby creatures take 1~4 Psychic damage. It requires a concentrated blast, which is useful to get AOE damage passively.
• Mind Blast: Spew forth a conical wave of psychic energy and possibly Stun targets within. Deals 4d8+Spellcasting Ability Modifier Psychic damage. It can be accessed by consuming astral-touched tadpoles.
• Freecast: Spell slots, charges, and similar resource costs for your next action or spell are removed. Requires Shield of Thralls or Mind Sanctuary and used once per long rest.

Best Cold Build – Level Progression in Baldur’s Gate 3

Level	Class	Selection
1	Sorcerer	Subclass: Draconic Bloodline Draconic Ancestry: White (Cold) Cantrips/Spells: Firebolt, Ray of Frost, Light, Shocking Grasp, Chromatic Orb, and Magic Missile.
2	Sorcerer	Metamagic: Extended Spell and Twinned Spell Spells: Ice Knife.
3	Sorcerer	Metamagic: Quickened Spell Spells: Misty Step.
4	Sorcerer	Cantrips/Spells: Friends and Shield
5	Sorcerer	Spells: Sleet Storm
6	Cleric	Subclass: Tempest Domain Cantrips/Spells: Sacred Flame, Guidance, Thaumaturgy, Create or Destroy Water
7	Sorcerer	Passivee Feature – Elemental Affinity: Damage Spell: Counterspell
8	Sorcerer	Spells: Ice Storm
9	Sorcerer	Feat – Elemental Adept: Cold Spells: Banishment
10	Sorcerer	Spells: Cone of Cold
11	Sorcerer	Metamagic: Careful Spell Cantrips/Spells: Mage Hand and Hold Monster
12	Sorcerer	Subclass Feature: Fly Spells: Disintegrate

Level 1

Level one follows our character creator to pick all correct backgrounds, races, skills, and ability distribution, focusing on Charisma and Dexterity. Sorcerer also gets to choose their subclass at level one, select Draonic Bloodline and the Draconic Ancestry: White (Cold). You will want to use a Quarterstaff for your weapon and stick to “clothing.” It’s vitally important you do not use any armor on gear slots. The ability score has high Dexterity which will add to our AC total. You can also use spells to pump this up higher, specifically Mirror Image if you have trouble with survivability. At level one, you will have access to four cantrips.  You will also have access to two level-one spells along with two very important subclass features.

Here are the most important features at level 1 with a Draconic Sorcerer Build in Baldur’s Gate 3:

Draconic Resilience Explained

• Dragon Ancestry (White): Cold is the damage type associated with your dragon ancestor. gain immediate access to the Armour of Agathys spell.
• Draconic Resilience Hit Points: Your Hit Point maximum increases by 1 for each Sorcerer level.  This is one reason you will see much higher health than other casters, making the subclass a great choice.
• Draconic Resilience Armour Class:  Dragon-like scales cover parts of your skin. When you aren’t wearing armour, your Base Armour Class increased to 13. 13 AC passively is a massive benefit to using this subclass. Most spell casters wearing light armor rely solely on Mage Armour to raise Armour Class (AC) to level 13. Then you add your Dexterity modifier typically 2 or 3 and reach 15 or 16. With this build, we can reach 16 Dexterity modifiers, passive Draconic Armour Class, and have 16 AC at the very start of the game wearing cloth. This is the mechanic behind why we don’t use Mage Armour on this specific subclass build.

Sorcerer (Cold) Cantrip Recommendations

• Ray of Frost: Call forth a frigid beam of blue-white light and reduce the target’s Movement Speed by 3m.  This is a decent attack to prevent a melee aggressor from closing the distance on you. 
• Fire Bolt: Ranged fire spell that deals 1d10 fire damage. Simple ranged attack that can be combined with Grease early on for big area damage.
• Light: An evocation cantrip that allows you to infuse an item with an aura of light. It is a great spell that will help you explore dark places.
• Shocking Grasp: Melee ability Lightning springs from your hand and prevents the target from taking reactions. You have an advantage when using this spell on creatures wearing metal armor. Used to shut down melee aggressors with important reaction triggers. Consider this your flex spell which you can use something else in this position.

Sorcerer Spell Recommendations

• Chromatic Orb: Hurl a sphere of energy. It deals 3d8 element damage and creates a surface. This area damage spell is useful to cast at range and control choke points or proc certain elemental effects. The strength of this skill on a Sorcerer is you can use Sorcerery point Twinned and cast it twice even at level 2 with one action. This gives you a ton of power early on and even later in the game.
• Magic Missile: Create 3 darts of magical force, each dealing 1d4+1 Force to its target. The darts always hit their target. The strength of this ability is its 100% chance of landing. It has far lower damage but is useful when you can target up to three separate enemies or finish someone off when you need a guaranteed hit.

At this level use your Chromatic Orb for small area damage and Magic Missile when you need guaranteed damage. Fire Bolt will hit hard and Shocking Grasp does great in melee range. Use Ray of Frost to deal cold damage which will also allow you to flee a melee target chasing you. Level two will introduce Metamagic which gives your build a lot more power early.

Draconic Sorcerer (Cold) Gameplay & Priorities

During the early phase of BG3, the Draconic Sorcerer is a powerful spellcaster who should equip a quarterstaff as early as possible. Your primary goal should be to recruit at least one melee heavy-hitter to your party. Spellcasters in BG3 feel weak in the first several levels and you’ll likely want a partner to increase your survivability. Moreover, look to acquire the Elixir of Bloodlust or Potion of Invisibility. Bloodlust helps trigger an extra action on kill and Invisibility helps you stay alive if you’re in trouble.

Your overall priority with the Draconic Sorcerer build is the following:

• Complete Prologue
• Recruit Other Companions
• Reached Hollowed City/Druid Grove
• Sell, Stock up, complete quest
• Unlock Withers, respec to proper ability score
• Progress to level 5
• Reach Underdark and Grymforge

Following these steps ensures a strong foundation, especially if you plan on playing solo or on Honour Mode difficulty.

• Level 1 Spell Loadout:  Firebolt, Ray of Frost, Light, Shocking Grasp, Chromatic Orb, and Magic Missile.

Level 2

At level two you with our Best Baldur’s Gate 3 Cold Build you unlock Sorcery Points, Metamagic, and one additional spell. We suggest taking Ice Knife spell with Twinned Spell and Extended Spell for metagmagic class passives.

• Ice Knife: Throw a shard of ice that deals 1d10 Piercing damage. It explodes and deals 2d6 Cold damage to anyone nearby. It leaves an Ice surface. If the hit misses, the shard of ice still explodes. Moreover, you can still cast this spell while you are Silenced.

Metamagic lets you manipulate spells to add range, cast on multiple targets, and more. Sorcery Points can be converted into additional Spell Slots, allowing you to cast more spells in between long rests. At level two, you get to select two Metamagic Options out of four: Careful, Distant, Extended, and Twinned. We suggest taking Twinned and Extended.

• Extended Spell: Double the duration of conditions, summons, and surfaces that you cause by spells.
• Twinned Spell: Cast a single target spell on multiple targets.

In the next phase, you get more options, but these are the best at this stage. Twinned combined with Ice Knife gives you two casts on a single target which is huge damage early in the game. At this level, you can pick up one more spell from the Sorcerer spell’s list. We suggest picking up Ice Knife.

Level 2 Spell Loadout:  Chromatic Orb, Magic Missile, and Ice Knife.

Level 3

At Level 3 you will unlock more metamagic options, Heighted, Subtle, and Quickened Spell. Quickened spell is the obvious choice here because it allows us to use an attack as a bonus action, using one action to cast a spell and one via bonus action. 

At this level, you can learn another spell, along with replacing a spell. You want to learn Misty Step and we do not have to replace any spell for now.

• Misty Step: Surrounded by silver mist, you teleport to an unoccupied space where you can see up to 18m range. One of the BEST defensive spells early in the game. It’s a teleport when you need it most. Moreover, this spell only requires a bonus action. You can use your action for a high-powered spell, and a bonus action to get away, assuming you have the spell slots.

Quickened Spell Explained

With Quickened Spell, you have a way to cast area-based damage spells with Sorcery Points. Keep in mind, the cost is substantial early with Quickened Costing 3 Sorcery points. Early on, it’s better to use Chromatic Orb twice with Twinned then at level 5 and beyond you have flexibility in Sorcery Point usage. You may also see Burning Hands or Hellish Rebuke on the spell book chart, and some of those spells can be granted passively depending on your race. Dragonborn also has an additional spell, High Elf Fire Bolt cantrip, and so on. So your spell book might look slightly different depending on the race choice you went with for the Best Sorcerer Build in Baldur’s Gate 3!

Level 3 Spell Loadout:  Chromatic Orb, Magic Missile, Ice Knife, and Misty Step.

Level 4

At Level, you will gain a cantrip, spell, and feat. We recommend taking the Ability Improvement feat for an increase in Charisma by +2 giving you 17 overall. This will help with damage and landing spells.

• Friends Cantrip: Gain Advantage on Charisma Checks against a non-hostile creature. This spell can be cast while you are Silenced.
• Shield: this is a defensive spell that helps when taking pressure with melee. When you are about to be hit by an enemy, use your Reaction to increase your Armour Class Armour Class by 5. You also take no damage from Magic Missile. These effects last until the start of your next turn.

So far, this build is set up mainly for defense as you learn the game. You rely on simple spells like Chromatic Orb and Ice Knife for damage and Shield and Misty Step for survival.

Level 4 Spell Loadout: Chromatic Orb, Magic Missile, Ice Knife, Shield, and Misty Step.

Level 5

At level 5 with our Best Baldur’s Gate 3 Cold Build your Sorcerer starts to feel very powerful with access to Level 3 spells. There are a lot of powerful spells to choose from at this point, but here’s our suggestion:

• Sleet Storm: Call forth a storm that douses fire, creates an Ice surface, and forces spellcasters to succeed at a Concentration Saving throw in order to maintain Concentration. Ice is a surface that is a Difficult Terrain. Creatures moving through it will have half of their Movement Speed and will fall Prone on a failed Dexterity Saving throw.

With this powerful level 3 spell, you can turn a large area into ice and make the movement of enemies harder. Moreover, you can follow up with the Ice Knife to deal additional Cold damage to enemies.

Level 5 Spell Loadout: Chromatic Orb, Magic Missile, Ice Knife, Shield, Misty Step, and Sleet Storm.

Level 6

At level 6, we suggest investing a level into the Cleric class. To do this, simply click the + sign with two access for multiclass. Select your class then a popup will appear on what you can select. The reason we want to use the Cleric is mainly for the Tempest Domain subclass with the Create or Destroy Water spell. As the Sorcerer cannot cast the wet status by themselves other than throwing water bottles, etc. it is more efficient to get Cleric. Below is everything you need to get as you spent a Level in Cleric class.

• Tempest Domain (Subclass)
  • Wrath of the Storm (Passive): This passive will work greatly with Create or Destroy Spell. It will allow you to deal 2d8 Thunder or Lightning damage as a reaction.
• Create or Destroy Water (Spell): It is a level 1 transmutation spell allowing you to call forth rain or destroy water-based surfaces.

Cantrip Selection

• Sacred Flame: Conjure a flame-like radiance that deals 1d8 Radiant. This Cantrip acts with a very low damage range ability that can be used without a spell slow.
• Guidance: Bestow guidance upon an ally. They gain a +1d4 bonus to Ability Checks.  This spell is critical during dialogue checks and is very useful outside of combat.
• Thaumaturgy: Gain Advantage on Intimidation and Performance Checks. This is another helpful noncombat-related cantrip.

Level 6 Spell Loadout: Chromatic Orb, Magic Missile, Ice Knife, Shield, Misty Step, Sleet Storm, and Create or Destroy Water.

Level 7

Now, come back to the Sorcerer and level up to choose an additional passive feature. Here, you will get a choice to either pick an Elemental Affinity: Damage or Elemental Affinity: Resistance. We recommend you to select the Elemental Affinity: Damage as it will give a boost to the sorcerer’s cold spells. Moreover, you will get the option to choose one more spell at this level. Pick the Counterspell (level 3).

• Counterspell: It will allow you to interrupt the opposing spellcaster from casting the spell.

However, you have to be cautious using this spell as it requires reactions. Save reactions for using this spell against the spellcasters.

Level 7 Spell Loadout: Chromatic Orb, Magic Missile, Ice Knife, Shield, Misty Step, Sleet Storm, Create or Destroy Water, and Counterspell.

Level 8

Leveling up your sorcerer class to Level 7 will grant you access to Level 4 Spells. These include some of the strongest spells in the game. We recommend you take the Ice Storm spell as it further strengthens our build with crowd control.

• Ice Storm: Impel a storm of hail and ice to crash from the sky, covering the ground and striking all objects and creatures within range, dealing Bludgeoning and Cold damage. It also creates an Ice surface that lasts 2 turns.

The Ice Storm deals d2d8 bludgeoning damage and 4d6 cold damage in a massive 6m radius. This spell radius is enormous, and you want to make sure not to hit allies with it. Since it’s a level 4 spell, you can use it in conjunction with Sleet Storm or Ice Knife. You then have two sources of area damage.

Level 8 Spell Loadout: Chromatic Orb, Magic Missile, Ice Knife, Shield, Misty Step, Sleet Storm, Create or Destroy Water, Counterspell, and Ice Storm.

Level 9

Leveling up your sorcerer class to level 8 will grant you another Level 4 spell and a Feat. For the Feat, we will advise you to take the Elemental Adept: Cold as it will make the spells and attacks ignore the cold resistance.

• Elemental Adept: Cold – Spells you cast and attacks you make ignore Resistance to Cold damage. In addition, when you deal Cold damage with a spell, you cannot roll a 1.

For the next Level 4 spell, we recommend you pick the Banishment spell. It will allow you to send a target to another plane of existence.

Level 8 Spell Loadout: Chromatic Orb, Magic Missile, Ice Knife, Shield, Misty Step, Sleet Storm, Create or Destroy Water, Counterspell, Ice Storm, and Banishment.

Level 10

Upon leveling up your sorcerer class to Level 9, you will gain access to Level 5 spells. Here we recommend you take the Cone of Cold spell as it synergize perfectly with Create or Destroy Water.

• Cone of Cold: Make a flurry of frost, crisp air, and condensed snow crystals erupt from your hands. It is a very powerful spell and perfect for freezing enemies and surfaces.

Cone of Cold is perfect for more area-based damage, especially if combined with Create or Destroy Water. You can also lean on scrolls for Banishment, Slow, and Confusion which is how I play this class. Loot books and you’ll get them constantly and free up your spell slots for big damage.

Level 9 Spell Loadout: Chromatic Orb, Magic Missile, Ice Knife, Shield, Misty Step, Sleet Storm, Create or Destroy Water, Counterspell, Ice Storm, Banishment, and Cone of Cold.

Level 11

Upon leveling up to level 10, the Sorcerer gets access to another spell, cantrip, and class passive. We recommend you take the Careful Metamagic Spell, Mage Hand Cantrip, and Hold Mpnster spell.

• Metamagic – Careful Spell: Allies automatically succeed in Saving Throws against spells that require them. This is very useful considering the massive amount of area damage we inflict. It’s a mini Evocation Wizard bonus, eliminating friendly fire from spells like Cone of Cold. I generally prefer to use Quickened and try to aim it properly. But there are situations in which you cannot do this, and chucking a friendly Cone of Cold is the play.
• Mage Hand cantrip: When you cast Mage Hand, the spectral hand is invisible and can carry out additional tasks. Consider this a utility cantrip that can help with outside-of-combat actions and thievery.
• Hold Monster: Paralyse a creature. It can’t Move, Act, or React. Attacks from within 3m are always Critical Hits.

Level 10 Spell Loadout: Chromatic Orb, Magic Missile, Ice Knife, Shield, Misty Step, Sleet Storm, Create or Destroy Water, Counterspell, Ice Storm, Banishment, Cone of Cold, and Hold Monster.

Level 12

Upon leveling up the Sorcerer to Level 11, it will access the level 6 spells and my favorite spell in the entire game, which is Disintegrate. Our subclass also unlocks a free Fly movement addition.

• Disintegrate: Shoot a thin green ray from your finger. If the 50-100 Force damage reduces the target to 0 hit points, it disintegrates into crumbly ash. My favorite spell in the entirety of Baldur’s Gate 3. It’s a powerful single-target damage spell that can outright disintegrate targets. While this build is focused on Cold and AOE, it’s a must-have in any aresnal for single target pressure.

The trick to using Disintegrate is pairing it with Twinned Magic. The spell can hit two targets in one cast, and both nearly hit 80 damage. That’s nearly 160 damage with my action. Moreover, you can then fire up Quickened Metamagic for another cast with your bonus action, typically a follow-up area damage spell.

• Fly (subclass feature): Fly to a target position up to 18 meters. This allows you tremendous movement potential without the need for Misty Step.  Another advantage of this not using Tadpole power or a potion is, that you can move over terrain without going prone or setting on fire. It seems not that important for a spell caster, but saving our bonus action is critical with Quickened Magic.

Level 11 Spell Loadout: Chromatic Orb, Magic Missile, Ice Knife, Shield, Misty Step, Sleet Storm, Create or Destroy Water, Counterspell, Ice Storm, Banishment, Cone of Cold, Hold Monster, and Disintegrate.

Best Companions for Cold Build

Shadowheart, Gale, and Lae’zel make the best companions for the Best Baldur’s Gate 3 Cold Build Guide. We do not recommend additional front-line fighters and damage dealers.

• Gale (Sorcerer) – respec Gale to a Draconic Bloodline Sorcerer to gain Metamagic and increase his spell power abilities. Use him for pure area-based damage caused by fire and ice.
• Lae’zel (Fighter – Battlemaster) – have her the front-line attention-getter doing Fighter to level 12.
• Shadowheart (Cleric – Life) – utilize Shadowheart to buff, heal, and stun enemies.

Best Gear for Cold Build

Beginner

Here’s the best beginner gear, items, and equipment for Cold Build in Baldur’s Gate 3:

Gear Slot	Best Gear Item	Effect
Head	Circlet of Blasting	Free Scorching Ray
Cape	–
Chest	The Protecty Sparkswall	+1 Spell Saves
Gloves	Gloves of Cinder and Sizzle	Free Scorching Ray
Boots	Disintegrating Night Walkers	Mobility & Misty Step
Necklace	Amulet of Misty Step	Free Misty Step
Ring	Ring of Absolute Force	Free Thunderwave
Ring	Fetish of Callarduran Smoothhands	Free Invisibility
Weapon 1 Main Hand	Mourning Frost	Free Acid Arrow
Weapon 1 Off-Hand	Adamantine Shield	+2 AC (Half-Elf or Human)
Weapon 2 Ranged	Bow of Awareness	+1 Initiative

• Circlet of Blasting: Sold by Blurg in the Myconid Colony (Alternative Haste Helm).
• The Protecty Sparkswall: Looted in Gilded Chest in Grymforge X: -645 Y: 360 (Alternative Poisoner’s Robe).
• Gloves of Cinder and Sizzle: Sold by Lady Esther at Rosymorn Monastery Trail (Alternative Gloves of Missile Snaring, or Gloves of Hail of Thorns).
• Disintegrating Night Walkers: Found in Underdark from Ne’re NPC (Alternative Cinder Shoes or Boots of Speed).
• Necklace of Elemental Augmentation: Inside a display case in the Inquisitor’s Chamber (Alternatives Amulet of Misty Step, Moondrop Pendant).
• Ring of Absolute Force: Dropped by Sergeant Thrinn in Grymforge (Alternative Ring of Colour Spray).
• Fetish of Callarduran Smoothhands: Found in Grymforge Abandoned Refuge (Alternatives The Sparkswall, or Sunwalker’s Gift if Human).
• Mourning Frost: Combine the three Drow parts spread throughout the Underdark (Alternatives Melf’s First Staff, The Spellsparkler, or Staff of Crones).
• Adamantine Shield Complete the Adamantine Forge Quest in Grymforge use if Human or Half-Elf Race (Alternatives Glowing Shield, or Wood Woad Shield).
• Bow of Awareness: Sold by Vendor Roah Moonglow in the Shattered Sanctum. You can use it even without proficiency for extra initiative!

Advanced

The following table presents the best gear, items, and equipment for the Cold Build in Baldur’s Gate 3:

Gear Slot	Best Gear Item	Effect
Head	Birthright	+2 Charisma
Cape	Cloak of the Weave	+1 Spell Save & Roll
Chest	Potent Robe	+1 AC, Charisma Modifier boost
Gloves	Quickspell Gloves	Cantrips Bonus Action
Boots	Helldusk Boots	Mobility & Hellcrawler
Necklace	Spellcrux Amulet	Restore spell slot
Ring	Killer’s Sweetheart	Auto Critical
Ring	Shifting Corpus Ring	Free Invisibility and Blur
Weapon 1 Main Hand	Markoheshkir	Free Spells, +1 Roll
Weapon 1 Off-Hand	Viconia’s Walking Fortress	If Human/Half-Elf
Weapon 2 Ranged	Darkfire Shortbow	Free Haste Spell

• Birthright: Sorcerer’s Sundries store in the Lower City of Baldur’s Gate (Alternative Hood of the Weave, or Helldusk Helmet).
• Cloak of the Weave: Sold by Helsik at the Devil’s Fee (Alternative Cloak of Protection).
• Potent Robe: Complete the Rescue the Tieflings quest (Alternative Helldusk Armour, Robe of Supreme Defences, or Robe of the Weave).
• Quickspell Gloves: Purchased at Lorroakan’s Projection at Sorcerors’s Sundries (Alternative Helldusk Gloves, or Gemini Gloves).
• Helldusk Boots: Gilded Chest on the top floor of Wyrm’s Rock Fortress (Alternative Disintegrating Night Walkers).
• Spellcrux Amulet: Drop by The Warden in Moonrise Towers Prison X: 569 Y: -650 (Alternative Amulet of Greater Health).
• Killer’s Sweetheart: Found inside the Gauntlet of Shar ( X: -833 Y: -729). (Alternative Ring of Free Action).
• Shifting Corpus Ring: Drop by Fist Marcus at the Last Light Inn (Alternative Crypt Lord Ring).
• Markoheshkir: At Ramazith’s Tower (Alternatives Staff of Spellpower, or Incandescent Staff).
• Viconia’s Walking Fortress: Looted from Viconia DeVir during Shadowheart’s companion quest (Alternative Shield of Devotion).
• Darkfire Shortbow: Sold by Dammon Last Light Inn Act 2 (Alternative Gontr legendary bow).

Best Consumables, Potions, Ammunition, and Items

The following list is the best consumable items that will aid in our Best Baldur’s Gate 3 Cold Build Guide:

• Elixir of Bloodlust: Once per turn when you kill a foe, you gain HP 5 temporary hit points and an additional action.
• Elixir of Hill Giant Strength: Increases Strength ability score to 21 until Long Rest.
• Potion of Speed: Gain extra action, +2 AC, Advantage on Dexterity Saving Throws, and double movement speed.
• Drow Poison: Weapon poison that adds Constitution Saving Throw or becomes Poisoned and falls Asleep.
• Potion of Flying: Drink to gain a flying speed of 60ft for one hour.
• Elixir of Heroism: Gain 10 temp HP and become Blessed until a long rest.
• Potion of Greater Healing: 4d4 + 4 hit points restored.
• Oil of Accuracy: Coat Weapon. Bonus of +2 in Attack Rolls.
• Elixir of Vigilance: Drink to gain a +5 bonus to Initiative and you can’t be Surprised.

Permanent Bonuses

Throughout Baldur’s Gate 3, you will have the ability to gain permanent bonuses to your character. These can grant additional spells, ability scores, and other bonuses. Permanent Bonuses are not displayed throughout the campaign but are vital to increase overall combat performance. We have all permanent bonuses here in a guide, but the most important ones for you to collect are listed below.

Act 1	Act 2	Act 3
Auntie Ethel’s Hair: Gain +1 to an Ability Score.	Potion of Everlasting Vigour: Gain +2 Strength.	Mirror of Loss – +2 to an Ability Score of your choice.
Awakened: Use illithid powers as a Bonus Action.	Slayer Form: Ability to transform into the Slayer.	Partial Ceremorphosis: Access to tier 3 illithid Powers.
Scratch: Gain Find Familiar Scratch.	Summon Us: Allows you to summon Us.	Sweet Stone Features: Blessed permanent.
Cheeky Quasit: Gain Summon Quasit Shovel.		Statue of the Gods: +2 to Saving Throws
Loviatar’s Love: 30% Hit Points or less, you gain a +2 bonus to Attack Rolls and Wisdom saving throws.
Necromancy Of Thay: access to powerful spells in Act 3.
Volo’s Ersatz Eye: See Invisibility

Build Summary – Best Baldur’s Gate 3 Cold

FAQs about the Cold build in Baldur’s Gate 3

What abilities should the Cold prioritize for my class?

Answer:  Prioritize in Charisma, Dexterity, and Constitution abilities for the Throw Build in Baldur’s Gate 3.

What are the best feats for Cold builds?

Answer:  For the first Feat, improve Charisma (+2) and then select the Elemental Adept: Cold as the second Feat for the Cold Build.

What are the best multiclass combos?

Answer:  You do not really need a multiclass for the Cold build, but as we are using Sorcerer that cannot cast water directly, it is efficient to take a level in Cleric. Multiclassing into Cleric will provide the Create or Destroy Water spell which we can use for spreading water in an area. After that, you can use Cold spells of Sorcerer for extensive damage and crowd control.

Are there “must-have” items for Cold builds?

Answer: Elixir of Hill Giant Strength, Potion of Speed, and Elixir of Bloodlust are the must-have items for Cold builds.

Looking For More About Baldur’s Gate 3?

Thank you for reading the Best Baldur’s Gate 3 Cold Build Guide. We provide the latest news and create guides for Baldur’s Gate 3. Also, watch me play games on Twitch or visit my YouTube channel!

• BG3 Tier Lists and Rankings All BG3 Builds
• All BG3 Classes, Companions and Multiclassing
• All BG3 Comprehensive Guides
• All Permanent Bonuses You Should Get in BG3
• Act 1 Checklist for Baldur’s Gate 3
• Act 2 Checklist for Baldur’s Gate 3
• Act 3 Checklist for Baldur’s Gate 3