Facebook
Reddit
Email
Discover the best and worst Illithid (Tadpole) powers in Baldur’s Gate 3 as we rank them in our tier list and help explain how and why you should obtain them.
When assembling a party and build to take on the toughest content in Baldur’s Gate 3, players should look for any advantage. One such advantage comes from consuming tadpoles and gaining Illithid Powers. Throughout the main story in BG3, the player will learn more about the mind flayer and have a critical decision, should I consume a tadpole? This guide assumes the answer is yes, and we will walk you through the best and worst powers and explain why.
What are illithid powers in BG3?
Illithid Powers are unlocked in Act 1 after a cutscene involving the Mysterious Artefact and the Dream Guardian. Players can choose to consume a tadpole via Mind Flayer Parasite Specimen items. The benefit is the awe-inspiring powers that unfold throughout the three acts in BG3. The downside is that some elements of the story change based on your decision, and your character’s appearance can change. The powers can also be consumed by your companions, but the game has limited specimens to consume so be careful in which you choose, this is permanent!
Baldur’s Gate 3 Illithid Powers Tier List
The tier list is important for understanding the power difference between different Illithid Powers. What makes an Illithid Power (tadpole) powerful is the resources required, impact, utility, and ease of access. Even some of the early powers can dramatically impact your combat power. If you’re looking for every advantage in the game, consider consuming these and gaining an incredible advantage in your campaign. Our tier list ranks all of the Illithid Powers from worst to best, starting with the D-tier as the weakest and the S-tier as the strongest.
The rankings from best to worst in our Tier list for the Baldur’s Gate 3 Illithid Powers (Tadpole) are:
- S Tier – Best overall with the most impact in-game
- A Tier – Good all around but surprised in effectiveness
- B Tier – Average performance, but better options exist
- C Tier – Niche usage with limited impact.
- D Tier – Worst performing with little impact
What are the Best Illithid Powers in Baldur’s Gate 3?
The best tadpole Illithid Powers are Luck of the Far Realms, Black Hole, and Freecast. Luck of the Far Realms gives you an automatic critical hit once per long rest and it can be acquired early in the game. Thus, this tadpole power will help combat turn, and is obtained early in your campaign. Black Hole is the most powerful combat Illithid Power because it sucks in enemies and slows them, debuffing movement, saving throw and AC. If you pass the Githyanki Chair quest in Act 1/2, you can use a bonus action and an action to suck in everything, then AOE it down, wiping a huge group of enemies in one turn. Lastly, Freecast is the best power for spellcasters who can forgo any spell slot cost once per long rest. Therefore, you can cast multiple Level 6 spells per long rest, especially with additional items.
Here is a tier list of all the Baldur’s Gate 3 Illithid Powers ranked:
| Rank | Illithid Powers |
|---|---|
| S | Luck of the Far Realms, Cull the Weak, Psionic Dominance, Black Hole, Freecast |
| A | Force Tunnel, Ability Drain, Repulsor, Illithid Expertise, Mind Blast, Fly |
| B | Favourable Beginnings, Concentrated Blast, Psionic Backlash, Displacer Beast Shape |
| C | Illithid Persuasion, Stage Fright, Charm, Perilous Stakes, Mind Sanctuary, Absorb Intellect |
| D | Psionic Overload, Transfuse Health, Displace, Shield of Thralls, Fracture Psyche, |
D Tier – Avoid
Below are the D Tier Illithid Powers (Tadpole) for Baldur’s Gate 3:
- Psionic Overload
- Transfuse Health
- Displace
- Shield of Thralls
- Fracture Psyche
The D-tier Tadpole powers are filled with useless skills and abilities that require too many resources or have little impact on combat. For instance, the Transfuse Health requires an action, has a 9-meter range, and sacrifices your health to heal an ally. Why would you use this when you can just throw a potion at a target without sacrificing health?
A Tadpole Illithid power is strong because it provides a passive bonus, or the resource required isn’t a burden to the character. If we look at Fracture Psyche, you use an action to lower Armour Class by 1, and the power fades after 5 turns. However, you can easily stun, disable, kill, or destroy multiple enemies with an action, so this skill has limited use. Only select these powers if you must reach another which will have a high impact.
C Tier – Weak
Below are the C Tier Illithid Powers (Tadpole) for Baldur’s Gate 3:
- Illithid Persuasion
- Stage Fright
- Charm
- Perilous Stakes
- Mind Sanctuary
- Absorb Intellect
Similar to D-tier powers, these C Tier powers are either costly to obtain or situational at best. Perilous Stakes, for instance, require action and make a target vulnerable to all damage, but they heal when they attack. The strength of this power is you can use it on enemies! This is more of an advanced strategy to debuff an enemy during turn one and do so much damage it never gets a chance to self-heal. Alternatively, if you don’t kill it in round one, the creature will likely be much harder to kill.
The Mind Sanctuary is another powerful Tadpole power but only if you’ve completed the GIthyanki Chair (zaithisk). If you complete this side quest, you can use tadpole powers as bonus actions rather than actions. Thus, you can set down Mind Sanctuary and take action in one turn. Mind Sanctuary allows you to use actions and bonus actions interchangeably and is helpful for Wizards, who often have little bonus action utility. However, it’s not mobile and thus is entirely situational.
B Tier – Average
Below are the B Tier Illithid Powers (Tadpole) for Baldur’s Gate 3:
- Favourable Beginnings
- Concentrated Blast
- Psionic Backlash
- Displacer Beast Shape
Our B Tier tadpole powers are helpful but don’t have the overall impact of others on this tier list. For instance, Psionic Backlash can be obtained early and helps do damage against spellcasters in range. However, the damage is only 1d4 psychic based on the caster’s spell level. Therefore, it’s a useful skill that becomes more impactful at higher levels but doesn’t have the overall dramatic kill potential of Black Hole or Cull of the Weak.
Another great tadpole power to consider is Favorable Beginnings. Your first attack roll or ability check gains a bonus equal to your profienceny bonus. Your proficiency bonus is based off your overall level and this is a passive feature. This means that you require no action, and you will consistently gain a bonus without having to do anything special. Therefore, look for passive and tadpole powers that do not require any special action or bonus action to activate and that help in every situation.
A Tier – Great
Below are the A Illithid Powers (Tadpole) for Baldur’s Gate 3:
- Force Tunnel
- Ability Drain
- Repulsor
- Illithid Expertise
- Mind Blast
- Fly
Our A-Tier powers are useful in almost every situation, only falling behind the S tier for situational usages. One such power is the Force Tunnel, obtained in Act 1, which allows you to charge forward and knock back multiple enemies. This skill acts like an early Thunderwave or gap closer, which can help with limited mobility tools for melee builds. Moreover, you can knock enemies off ledges for instant kills like the Spider Matriarch!
Speaking of mobility, the Fly tadpole power is the best for movement. You gain the ability to fly, without using a potion, action, or bonus action. You can simply fly, doubling your movement speed per turn! Every melee main character should obtain this to boost speed. Moreover, this skill during the final fight can make a huge difference when battling the Elder Brain.
S Tier – Best
Below are the S Tier Illithid Powers (Tadpole) for Baldur’s Gate 3:
- Luck of the Far Realms
- Cull of the Weak
- Psionic Dominance
- Black Hole
- Freecast
The S Tier powers are the best in Baldur’s Gate 3 because of their effectiveness in application in every situation. Luck of the Far Realms can be obtained in the beginning of the game and increase your burst potential after every long rest. Cull of the Weak gives you extra splash damage to other targets on kills. This gives AOE potential to melee builds that lack it. Psionic Dominance is a free counterspell that can shut down magic users at a distance, even if your character doesn’t have spell casting.
The Black Hole tadpole power has the greatest impact on combat, allowing you to suck in many enemies into a small radius. Those enemies are de-buffed and you can repeatedly cast it during that combat encounter. You can move entire groups into a trap, shoot arrows of many targets, crowd control with spells, or just throw a gigantic fireball in the middle of them. Use Black Hole if you struggle with the hardest battles in BG3, and you, too, with this, are an S Tier tadpole power.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) about Illithid Powers
Q1. Is it bad to use the illithid powers in BG3?
Answer: No, the only downside is that your character will change in appearance, and the story may change. However, each subsequent use of the tadpole powers has no impact on general gameplay.
Q2. What is the best illithid power?
Answer: Black Hole is the best Illithid Power because it has the greatest impact on combat, pulling in any enemy within 9 meters, debuffing them, and allowing the user to recast the spell during combat.
Q3. What happens if you get all illithid powers in BG3?
Answer: you only get an achievement for consuming one tadpole power, and nothing beyond this rewards the player with anything. It’s best to only take Illithid Powers you think are good and have other companions consume a tadpole to increase their combat potential.
Q3. Do illithid powers affect the ending?
Answer: No, only if you decide to have full ceremorphosis during the game’s final phase will this impact your story and ending.
Looking For More About Baldur’s Gate 3?
Thank you for reading the Baldur’s Gate 3 Best Illithid Powers: Tier List. 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!
