Best Baldur’s Gate 3 Tempest Domain Cleric Build Guide

This guide will explain the best Cleric Build in Baldur’s Gate 3, the Cleric Class, and the Tempest Domain subclass, for the optimal setup.

This build page has been updated for the patch 6 version of Baldur’s Gate 3.

Tempest Domain Cleric Class Introduction

The Cleric is a powerful and versatile class in Baldur’s Gate 3 that can be played in a variety of ways. Clerics are divine spellcasters who channel the power of their gods to heal their allies, buff their team, and kill their enemies. Clerics have a wide range of spells at their disposal, including healing spells, buff spells, and damage spells. They also have several unique abilities, such as Channel Divinity and Turn Undead. The Cleric is your typical support class but has flexibility depending on their chosen subclass.

For this build, we will use a unique Cleric subclass the Tempest. This subclass focuses on the Thunder and Lighting elements and plays best as a hybrid weapon and spell-casting damage dealer with some support. You will want enemies to attack you and return lighting and thunder damage.  Will explain more about this later in the level progression but consider this a unique Cleric build with an elemental twist and big damage with weapon attacks.

Tempest Cleric Pros	Tempest Cleric Cons
Weapon Damage	Weak Movement Speed
Massive Area Damage	Concentration Heavy
Durability	Bonus Action Utility

Tempest Domain Cleric Class Mechanics and Features

The following list are key features and class mechanics of the Tempest Domain Cleric in Baldur’s Gate 3:

• Primary Ability: Wisdom
• Saving Throws: Charisma and Wisdom
• Subclass: Tempest Domain
• Deity: Tyr
• Armor Proficiency: Light Armour, Medium Armour, Heavy Armour and Shield
• Weapon Proficiency: Simple Weapons, Martial Weapons, Morningstars
• Preferred Weapon: Greatsword
• Preferred Armor: Heavy
• Wrath of the Storm: Strike back at an attacking creature using a Reaction, dealing Lightning or Thunder damage.
• Destructive Wrath: When you roll Thunder or Lightning damage, you can use your Reaction and Channel Divinity to deal maximum damage instead.
• Divine Strike Thunder: Once per turn deal 1-8 Thunder damage in addition to your weapon’s Weapon Damage when you make a melee attack.

Cleric Spell Mechanics

• Cantrips: are like spells , but you can cast them infinitely, and they don’t take your spell slots. 
• Spell Slots: At each level, you gain access to more usage of spells and high-tier spells but only have a finite number of spells until long rest.
• Prepared Spells: this allows you to flex in and out spells as long as you are not in combat.
• Concentration: is a spell mechanic that requires you to maintain concentration otherwise, the spell effect ends.

Tempest Domain Subclass

For this build, we will use a unique Cleric subclass the Tempest. This subclass focuses on the Thunder and Lighting elements and plays best as a hybrid weapon and spell-casting damage dealer with some support. You will want enemies to attack you and return lighting and thunder damage.  Will explain more about this later in the level progression but consider this a unique Cleric build with an elemental twist and big damage with weapon attacks.

Below is a list of the Tempest Domain Cleric subclass progression, features, and spells:

• Domain Spells (Level 1) – Thunderwave and Fog Cloud
• Heavy Armour Proficiency (Level 1) – Wearing Heavy Armour will not impose Disadvantage on your Attack Rolls or prevent you from casting spells.
• Martial Weapon Proficiency (Level 1) – Add your Proficiency Bonus to Attack Rolls with Martial Weapons.
• Wrath of the Storm (Level 1) – Strike back at an attacking creature using a Reaction, potentially dealing 2~16 Lightning damage.
• Destructive Wrath (Level 2) – When you roll Thunder or Lightning damage, you can use your Reaction and Channel Divinity to deal maximum damage instead.
• Domain Spells (Lvl 3) – Shatter and Gust of Wind
• Domain Spells (Level 5) – Call Lightning and Sleet Storm
• Thunderous Strike (Lvl 6) –  when you deal Lightning or Thunder damage to a large or smaller creature, you can also push it up to 3 feet away from you.
• Domain Spells (Level 7) – Ice Storm and Freedom of Movement
• Divine Strike: Thunder (Level 8) – Once per turn deal 1-8 Thunder damage in addition to your weapon’s Weapon Damage when you make a melee attack.
• Domain Spells (Level 9) -Insect Plague and Destructive Wave

Recommended Backgrounds

Outlander is the Best Background for the Best Baldur’s Gate 3 Tempest Domain Cleric Build Guide because you get two skills for your highest ability scores Athletics and Survival. You want to pick a background that scales with your main ability Wisdom. This choice mostly influences roleplaying and dialogue options aspects and allows you to create unique characters. Additional choices are:

1. Outlander: Proficiency in Athletics (strength) and Survival (wisdom).  You grew up in the wilds, learning to survive far from the comforts of civilization.  Outlander companions in BG3 are Halsin and Karlach. 
2. Acolyte:  Proficiency in Insight (wisdom) and Religion (intelligence). You have spent your life serving a temple, learning sacred rites, and providing sacrifices to the god or gods you worship. Shadowheart is an Acolyte.
3. Folk Hero: Proficiency in Animal Handling (wisdom) and Survival (wisdom). You’re a champion of the common people, challenging tyrants, and monsters to protect the helpless. Folk Hero companions in BG3 are Minsc and Wyll.

Best Race Choice for Tempest Cleric Build

Zariel Tiefling is the best race choice for our best Baldur’s Gate 3 Tempest Domain Cleric Build Guide because you gain fire resistance, two smite spells, and Darkvision.  The second choice is the Githyanki because you gain mobility spell Misty Step, Enhanced Leap, and Astral Knowledge.

Zariel Tiefling	Githyanki
Searing Smite	Astral Knowledge
Fire Resistance	Misty Step
Thaumaturgy Cantrip	Marital Prodigy
Darkvision	Mage Hand Cantrip

The Cleric’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.

Recommended Skills for Tempest Domain Cleric Build

Medicine and Insight are the best skills for our Best Baldur’s Gate 3 Tempest Domain Cleric Build Guide because they complement your class abilities and enhance your effectiveness in various situations.

Here are the skills for Tempest Domain Cleric in Baldur’s Gate 3:

1. Medicine – is a Wisdom skill that aids in recognizing symptoms and diagnosing disease.
2. Insight – is a Wisdom skill used in dialogue and exploration.

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.

Best Tempest Domain Cleric Ability Scores

Below is the best ability score to unlock the full potential of the Best Baldur’s Gate 3 Tempest Domain Cleric Build Guide:

Ability	Score
Strength	16
Dexterity	10
Constitution	14
Intelligence	8
Wisdom	16
Charisma	10

The best ability score for the Tempest Cleric is 16 Wisdom, 16 Strength, and 14 Constitution. This will give you the ability to hit hard with martial weapons, good spell power, and high survivability. This build will use heavy armour, so Dexterity isn’t as relevant and Charisma doesn’t influence our spells. 16 Strength is helpful since we will be using marital weapons with our unique Tempest subclass.

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.

Tempest Domain Cleric Spell Slots

Here is a list of the Tempest Domain Clerics’ Spell Slots as they progress:

Cleric Level	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	5th	6th
Level 1	2	0	0	0	0	0
Level 2	3	0	0	0	0	0
Level 3	4	2	0	0	0	0
Level 4	4	3	0	0	0	0
Level 5	4	3	2	0	0	0
Level 6	4	3	3	0	0	0
Level 7	4	3	3	1	0	0
Level 8	4	3	3	2	0	0
Level 9	4	3	3	3	1	0
Level 10	4	3	3	3	2	0
Level 11	4	3	3	3	2	1
Level 12	4	3	3	3	2	1

Tempest Domain Cleric Illithid Powers

Illithid Powers are unlocked later in the game when you learn more about the Mind Flayers and Tadpoles. You can gain jars of Mind Flayer Parasite Specimens, and consume them to gain one point. This is essentially another skill tree advancement with some very strong powers. If you decide to advance this skill line, these are the choices we suggest.

Here are the best Illithid Powers for our Best Baldur’s Gate 3 Tempest Domain Cleric Build Guide:

• Luck of the Far Realms: When you make a successful Attack Roll against a foe, you can change that hit into a Critical Hit.
• 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.
• Psionic Backlash: When an enemy within 9m casts a spell, you can use your reaction to inflict ld4 Psychic damage to the caster per the spell’s level.
• Blackhole: Area-based suck-in that slows targets.
• Repulsor: Massive area knockback that can hit friendlies.
• Charm: Channel the dark allure of the tadpole to Charm an enemy that attacks you, preventing them from attacking you until their next turn.  This is the priority power you want to obtain because you can force enemies to attack something else. 

Tempest Domain Cleric Level Progression

Level 1

Level one follow our character creator to pick all correct background, race, skills, and ability distribution focusing on Wisdom and Strength. You want to use heavy armor, and a two-handed weapon preferred Greatsword. You can get a super powerful one in the tutorial Everburn Blade. As you progress, the Sword of Justice can also be obtained early in Act 1, giving you a very powerful defensive two-handed Greatsword. Below are our recommendations as a Level 1 Tempest Cleric:

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.

Spell Selection

• Guiding Bolt: 4d6 Radiant damage that grants Advantage on the next Attack Roll against the target. This is very high damage early and helpful because of the Advantage component. Consider this your main offensive spell.
• Inflict Wounds: 3d10 damage necrotic. Used in melee range for good damage.
• Healing Word: 1d4 Heal a creature you can see up to 18m away with a bonus action. Since this is a bonus action heal, you can combine it with an action-based heal like Cure Wounds or others to do two heals in one turn.
• Cure Wounds: 1d8 heal requiring you to touch a creature to heal it. A melee-based heal that isn’t that powerful but at early levels it can be combined with Healing Word for two heals in one turn.
• Thunderwave (domain spell): Release a wave of thunderous force that pushes away all creatures and objects.
• Fog Cloud (domain spell): Blinds and Heavily Obscures creatures within it.

Alternative spells – Consider Sanctuary and Command important spells to consider. Sanctuary is helpful when you or an ally are in trouble and don’t plan on attacking. This prevents the enemy from attacking that ally. Command is important for crowd control if you need a spell. Swap those in for Cure Wounds and Healing Word if you are not healing.

Subclass Feature

• Heavy Armour Proficiency: Allows you to wear heavy armour.
• Martial Weapon Proficiency: Allows more weapon choices like the two-handed Greatsword.
• Wrath of the Storm: Strike back at an attacking creature using a Reaction, potentially dealing 2~16 Lightning or Thunder damage.

For cantrips, we are mainly looking for utility with Sacred Flame being an okay damage source if you have zero spell slots and no melee range. For spells, Guiding Bolt is your best range damage, while Inflict Wounds is highest in the melee range. Early in the game, your weapon attacks won’t be high damage but are still useful when your spell slots are low in melee range. You also have good support at this level combing Healing Word and Cure Wounds for a double healing because one uses an action, the other a bonus action.

Tempest Domain Subclass at Level 1

The Tempest subclass selection at level one unlocks a lot! Heavy armour, marital weapons (Greatswords), two spells, and a feature. Any thunder damage is good, and Thunderwave is a great knockback ability with some thunder damage. Fog is helpful to shut down the range of casters and damage dealers. Wrath of the Storm is an amazing reaction, which doesn’t consume action or bonus actions. You can find this in your spellbook via the third tab on the right reaction.  This procs when someone attacks you, doing free damage back. This is why in this build you always want to be in the action.

Your gameplay at this level is very simple, mainly Guiding Bolt at range for damage, Sacred Flame when out of spell slots, and you have very low mobility and initiative. So, expect to go last or very late in the round, which can be annoying and is dictated by the Dexterity ability score. There’s a potion that solves this later in the consumable section, but for now, it’s one of the downsides. Also, don’t be afraid to heal because you have the versatility to do so with this build. Use spells, cantrips, and weapon attacks and the big power jumps are levels 4, 5, and 9 with the Best Baldur’s Gate 3 Tempest Domain Cleric Build Guide.

Tempest Domain Cleric Gameplay & Priorities

During the early phase of BG3, your Tempest Cleric should equip a Two-Handed Greatsword as soon as possible. Additionally, find a back-bar ranged weapon at the start of the game. The Tempest Cleric limited mobility early on, and ranged cantrips or bow attacks can help keep damage high. Moreover, look to acquire Elixir of Hill Giant Strength, Potion of Speed, and Oil of Accuracy consumables. These three consumables “stack” allowing for massive damage!

Your overall priority with the Tempest Domain Cleric build is the following:

• Complete Prologue
• Recruit Companions
• Unlock Withers, respec companions to proper class/ability score
• Collect the Necromancy of Thay (important in Act 3)
• Reached Hollowed City/Druid Grove
• Sell, Stock up, complete quests
• Unlock summons, Scratch, Shovel
• Progress to level 5
• Reach Underdark and Grymforge
• Check all Permanent Bonuses in Act 1 and the best Gear

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

Tempest Cleric Level 1 Prepared Spells: Guiding Bolt, Healing Word, Cure Wounds, Inflict Wounds.

Level 2

At Level 2, you unlock one level 1 spell, Channel Divinity charge, Turn Undead, Subclass feature, and one more prepared spell.

• Turn Undead (class action): Present your holy symbol and pray. Each undead that can see or hear you is Turned and forced to spend its turns fleeing from you until it takes damage.
• Destructive Wrath (subclass feature) – When you roll Thunder or Lightning damage, you can use your Reaction and Channel Divinity to deal maximum damage instead.
• Bless (spell selection): Bless up to 3 creatures. They gain a +1d4 bonus to Attack Rolls and Saving Throws.

Tempest Domain Gameplay at Level 2

At this level, you can pick up and or drop a couple of different spells depending on your playstyle. Bless is a great offensive buff for you and your group and requires concentration. You can only have one concentration spell active at a time, but this helps your group out especially you with weapon attacks. The flex skill is Inflict Wounds – yes it does more damage than Guiding Bolt, but only by a small amount and Guiding Bolt can do great damage at range. Consider Shield for a defensive single target buff or Command if you need more crowd control great options here. The spells listed below are suggestions and should be changed in and out depending on the circumstances, your party, and your playstyle. 

The Destructive Wrath subclass features allow you to use your Cleric Resource Channel Divinity charges to deal maximum damage with Thunder or Lighting.  So, if the roll says 2-10, you can expect 10. This becomes exceptionally powerful at level 9 with the Destructive Wave skill. You can also use this on melee attacks that do Thunder damage, and it doesn’t consume a spell slot. You will unlock more Channel Divinity charges, but keep in mind you benefit directly because of the feature which you should seek out and cast high damage lighting or thunder spells.

Tempest Cleric Level 2 Prepared Spells: Guiding Bolt, Healing Word, Cure Wounds, Inflict Wounds, Bless.

Level 3

At Level 3 you unlock two level 2 spells, two subclass spells that are always prepared, and one new prepared spell.

• Shatter (subclass spell): 3d8 thunder damage up to 18m in a 3m radius.
• Gust of Wind (subclass spell): Summon a strong wind that clears all clouds and pushes creatures back 5m, forcing them off Balance.
• Spiritual Weapon (spell selection): Summon a floating, spectral weapon that attacks your enemies alongside you.

Reaching Level 3 unlocks one of my favorite Cleric spells Spiritual Weapon. This is a non-concentration summon that gives you an ally during combat. The best part about this spell is it costs a bonus action rather than an action. Turn one I usually cast this in the center of combat with a bonus action, then Bless or Shield a concentration spell with my action. Turn two, I go offensive with a melee attack or Guiding Bolt.  

Shatter is a useful ranged thunder damage spell, and you can take advantage of max damage with the Destructive Wrath reaction. Shatter is also a small radius so it can do damage to more than one target at a far range before you can close the distance.  Gust of Wind is a utility knockback skill.

Mobility and the Tempest Domain Cleric

Something of note at this level, you may be frustrated with lack of mobility and that’s just a part of the Cleric. Misty Step is a useful spell that can be learned by the Githyanki race, and you also can acquire the scroll. Fly scroll and potions are another great option to increase your movement. You will get more tools to deal with lethargic movement and speed, but for now buff, range damage, and continue to press forward into the action. You want enemies to hit you and react for free damage.

Tempest Cleric Level 3 Prepared Spells: Guiding Bolt, Healing Word, Cure Wounds, Inflict Wounds, Bless, Spiritual Weapon. 

Level 4

At Level 4 you unlock one cantrip, one prepared spell, and a feat.

• Light (cantrip selection): Infuse an object with an aura of light.
• Lesser Restoration (spell selection): Cure a creature from disease, poison, paralysis, or blindness.
• Ability Improvement (feat selection): +2 to Wisdom ability score.

At Level 4 we want to increase our Wisdom mainly because it helps with overall spell success, and we don’t have all the melee damage tools yet at this level.  Realize that Wisdom will help increase the chance to land spells, Strength will help with damage from melee and Constitution will help with making saving throws on concentration. Something that is VERY helpful and you should be on the lookout for is the Hill Giant potion.

These potions jack your Strength up to 21 until a long rest! Look to craft them, buy from vendors, and use them for a massive boost to Strength. I usually consume these before a tough battle and try to get a couple of fights in before a Long Rest.  For spell selection, we take a flex skill Lesser Restoration which you can flex in or out depending on your party’s needs. If you struggle with survival, remember Shield is a great pre-fight spell that requires concentration.  

Tempest Cleric Level 4 Prepared Spells: Guiding Bolt, Healing Word, Cure Wounds, Inflict Wounds, Bless, Spiritual Weapon, Lesser Restoration. 

Level 5

Level 5 the Tempest Cleric unlocks two level 3 spells, Destroy Undead, one more prepared spell, and two subclass spells.

• Destroy Undead (class action): When you’ve successfully Turned an undead using Turn Undead, it also takes 4d6 Radiant damage.
• Call Lightning (subclass spell): 3-30 lighting damage 18m range 2m radius.
• Sleet Storm (subclass spell): Call forth a storm that disrupts the Concentration of spellcasters, douses fires, and creates an ice surface.
• Spiritual Guardian (spell selection): Nearby enemies take 3~24 Radiant or Necrotic damage per turn, and their movement speed is halved.
• Mass Healing Word (spell selection): heal for 1d4+3 up to 6 creatures.

Tempest Cleric Level 5 Gameplay and Spells

Level 5 is a big jump in power due to all the powerful spells we get. Call Lighting is a perfect use of a level 3 spell slot at this level because of all our passive reactions to increase lighting damage. This spell is also area-based and you can call it down again without using a spell slot. The trick to making this a big nuke is to throw down water or cast water in an enemy-dense area. Combine water with lighting, well you know what happens: boom!

Spiritual Guardian is a god-tier melee damage spell that you want to keep on you as you approach the melee fray. It will do Radiant or Necrotic damage near you in a radius and require concentration. The damage is significant, and the target’s movement is halved making it annoying and hard for them to get away. This is my preferred spell over Bless if I’m going heavily in the fray offensive in early turns.  

Mass Healing Word is just an upgraded Healing Word that heals up to 6 allies and still uses a bonus action. Sleet Storm is also useful due to its enormous area, but it can be difficult to cast and use properly because of friendly fire. At this level consider Spiritual Guardian and Spiritual Weapon a good first turn cast combination as you move in.

Tempest Cleric Level 5 Prepared Spells: Guiding Bolt, Healing Word, Cure Wounds, Inflict Wounds, Bless, Spiritual Weapon, Lesser Restoration, Mass Healing Word, Spirit Guardians.

Level 6

At Level 6 you unlock one Channel Divinity charge, subclass feature, and one more prepared spell.

• Thunderous Strike (subclass spell) – At 6th level, when you deal Lightning or Thunder damage to a large or smaller creature, you can also push it up to 3 feet away from you.
• Hold Person (spell selection): Hold a humanoid enemy still. They can’t move, act, or react. Attacks from within 3m are always Critical Hits.

Reaching Level 6 gives you a nice knockback reaction with Thunderous Strike. You can choose to knockback or not via reaction so you have some control over this. The spell selection at this level is dependent on your needs, with Hold Person being a great single-target crowd control ability.  Shield, Command, and others make good substitutions here but try to have some crowd control at this level if you must CC someone during your turn.

Ending Act 1 as a Tempest Domain Cleric

As you approach Level 6 with the Best Baldur’s Gate 3 Tempest Domain Cleric Build Guide, you should be close to completing Act 1. Be sure to visit vendors and stock up on camp and alchemy supplies. Additionally, make sure to pick up all of the best Act 1 items. Furthermore, there are also permanent bonuses you don’t want to miss in Act 1. Finally, the Grymforge has powerful armor and weapons (Adamantine) that can be used well into Act 3. Consider taking the time to craft some items before moving on to Act 2, where you won’t be able to return.

Tempest Cleric Level 6 Prepared Spells: Guiding Bolt, Healing Word, Cure Wounds, Inflict Wounds, Bless, Spiritual Weapon, Lesser Restoration, Mass Healing Word, Spirit Guardians, Hold Person.

Level 7

• Ice Storm (subclass spell): Impel a storm of hail ice to crash from the sky, covering the ground and striking all objects and creatures within range.
• Freedom of Movement (subclass spell): Snap an ally out of any Stun. Difficult Terrain can’t slow them down, and they can’t be magically Paralysed or Restrained. If the target is Restrained by non-magical means, it can spend 1.5m of movement to free itself.
• Guardian of Faith (spell selection): Call forth a divine guardian that attacks nearby enemies. Every time it deals damage, the guardian loses an equal amount of hit points.

Level 7 gives you two free spells and one to select. Starting at this level and beyond, you will only get one spell slot at this level, so be careful what you pick.  Guardian of Faith is another useful summon ability that does good damage in a small area but cannot move. This isn’t a concentration spell and stacks with Spiritual Weapon which you can cast both in one turn. Guardian of Faith is best used in choke points where enemies are forced to move through. 

Freedom of Movement is a niche spell and I find it hard to justify a level 4 spell slot to cast it. Ice Storm is another mega nuke area-based spell, but it’s hard to cast with friendly fire. I typically use my spell slot for Guardian of Faith or upscale lighting spells. That simply means using a high-level spell slot to increase its power.

Tempest Cleric Level 7 Prepared Spells: Guiding Bolt, Healing Word, Cure Wounds, Inflict Wounds, Bless, Spiritual Weapon, Lesser Restoration, Mass Healing Word, Spirit Guardians, Hold Person, Guardian of Faith.

Level 8

At level 8 we get a super powerful melee damage amplification, so we want to push our Strength with +2 Ability Improvement. The Banishment spell is a great selection for crowd control essentially removing a target for two turns. You want to cast this only with a high percentage chance to land so you don’t waste a turn. 65% or higher is a safe percentage chance, and always focus on the highest damage-producing enemy.

• Divine Strike Thunder (subclass feature): Once per turn deal 1-8 Thunder damage in addition to your weapon’s Weapon Damage when you make a melee attack.
• Banishment (spell selection): Temporarily Banish your target to another plane of existence.
• Ability Improvement (feat selection): +2 to Strength.

Divine Strike: Thunder turns your normal attack into a much better version of doing Thunder damage.  You can still attack with your main hand and use a reaction if you wish to use it. The strength of this ability is you can combine the attack with Destructive Wrath ensuring you do the maximum damage possible.  This makes your melee attacks do much higher damage consistently without using any spell slots. You can consume Hill Giant’s potion to make it even nastier!

Tempest Cleric Level 8 Prepared Spells: Guiding Bolt, Healing Word, Cure Wounds, Inflict Wounds, Bless, Spiritual Weapon, Lesser Restoration, Mass Healing Word, Spirit Guardians, Hold Person, Guardian of Faith, Banishment

Level 9

At Level 9 we get one of my favorite (and more dangerous) abilities in BG3: Destructive Wave. This is a powerful 9-meter radius, area-based damage spell that does thunder and radiant damage. This spell also does friendly fire so you have to be very intentional when casting it. I found it best to jump into the fray on turn one with a Misty Step scroll or Flying and blast the enemy team.

• Insect Plague (subclass spell): Locusts attack everyone within range, make the area Difficult Terrain, and impose Disadvantage on Perception Checks.
• Destructive Wave (subclass spell): Create a shockwave of either divine or malevolent thunder that damages nearby creatures and possibly knocks them Prone.
• Mass Cure Wounds (spell selection): Unleash a soothing hum of energy that heals you and nearby allies for 7~28 hit points.

Destructive Wave Explained

Once you cast this, you can select TWO reactions, one to maximize your damage and another to knock back enemies. In certain fights, it is hilarious because you can knock back or off cliffs multiple enemies in the first turn. The damage from Destructive Waves is substantial as well, but be very careful to cast this in the right area without friendlies. They have to pass a saving throw to not take damage. Lastly, this ability can knock enemies prone as well. Destructive Wave does tons of damage, huge radius, knocks prone, and can knock back making it your best nuke with a spell slot.

You can also take the Mass Cure Wounds spell to have an additional powerful AOE heal and provide good support with a level 5 spell slot.  Beyond this level, your spells aren’t that effective or useful, so we are going to take a different path with the build and solve the biggest issue with the Cleric, and that’s the lack of multiple actions.

Tempest Cleric Level 9 Prepared Spells: Guiding Bolt, Healing Word, Cure Wounds, Inflict Wounds, Bless, Spiritual Weapon, Lesser Restoration, Mass Healing Word, Spirit Guardians, Hold Person, Guardian of Faith, Banishment, Mass Cure Wounds.

Level 10

At this level, I suggest multiclassing the Cleric. The main downside to the class is the lack of additional actions. The Fighter at level two gets Action Surge, a once-per-short rest way to get two actions per turn. The reason you stick in Cleric until level 9 is Destructive Wave, a huge area-based nuke. With the Fighter now, we can improve our two-handed damage, more utility with a new subclass, and better action usage.

If you don’t want to stray from the Cleric class, feel free to stay in and select spells. My favorite level 6 spell is Planar Ally which you get at level 11.

• Great Weapon Fighting (Fighter Class Feature): When you roll a 1 or 2 on a damage die for an attack with a two-handed melee weapon, that die is rerolled once.

This feature will help with our two-handed weapon attacks. From this point forward, you won’t be dependent on spells for damage and can do massive single-target damage with weapon attacks and high Strength. You truly feel like a hybrid Cleric at this point and beyond.

Level 11

At level 11 with two levels into the Fighter class, we unlock the amazing skill, Action Surge.

• Action Surge (Fighter class action): Immediately gain an extra action to use this turn.

This ability replenishes on Short Rest and can be used once per fight. Don’t always use this turn one, rather get buffed up, into the fray and use it when you must heal, kill a target, or crowd control. This is your ace in the sleeve when you just must have another action, spell or attack use it.

Level 12

At Level 12, you’ve reached the maximum level in Baldur’s Gate 3 and the Battle Master subclass unlocks with 3 levels into Fighter. The Battle Master subclass gives you four superiority dice which are a resource you can use for specific manoeuvres. These maneuver synergies extremely well with our Cleric, and below are my suggestions: 

• Riposte: When a hostile creature misses you with a melee attack, expend a superiority die to retaliate with a powerful strike that deals an additional 1d8 damage.
• Goading Attack: Deal an additional 1d8 and attempt to goad the target into attacking you. Target receives Disadvantage on attacking any other creature.
• Disarming Attack: Spend a superiority die to make an attack that deals an additional 1d8 damage and possibly forces the target to drop the weapons they are holding.

Riposte makes an awesome addition because you can react with two return fire skills. You can even stack this further if you took an Asmodeus Tiefling and Hellish Rebuke for three reactions! Goading Attack is also good because you incentivize a target to attack you or take a disadvantage, which feeds into your desire to get attacked and react. Disarming Attack is great because you can drop an enemy’s weapon. This is especially useful on Fighters and Barbarian heavy weapon users that depend on their weapon. At this level you have a very well-rounded build that can use a combination of spells, support, buff, and melee weapon damage attacks.

Here’s a summary of your abilities, skills, and spells for Tempest Cleric:

• Single target damage: Magic Missile, Scorching Ray, Blight, Disintegrate 
• Area damage: Destructive Wave, Shatter, Call Lighting, Ice Storm
• Defensive: Shield, Protection from Energy, Freedom of Movement
• Healing: Cure Wounds, Healing Word, Lesser Restoration
• Crowd Control: Hold Person, Banishment, Command
• Weapon attack: Divine Strike Thunder, Disarming Attack

Tempest Domain Cleric Companions

For Cleric Build, we do not recommend another upfront damage dealer as both you and either Lae’zel or Karlach will fulfill that role. The premise of the build is to have one to two melee fights with a heavy damage dealer, your Cleric providing support. Having range casters and damage dealers will help with crowd control, area damage, and burst at range.

• Karlach (Barbarian): damage, high survivability, and in-your-face aggression. 
• Gale (Wizard): range magic damage, crowd control, and utility spells.
• Astarion (Rogue): High Initiative, damage, lockpicking, and sneaking

Recommended Gear

Beginner: Act 1

Here’s the best beginner gear for the Best Baldur’s Gate 3 Tempest Domain Cleric Build Guide:

Gear Slot	Best Gear Item	Effect
Head	Haste Helm	Increases Movement
Cape	–
Chest	Adamantine Splint Armour	18 AC
Gloves	Gloves of the Growling Underdog	Advantage when surrounded
Boots	Disintegrating Night Walkers	Mobility and Misty Step
Necklace	Amulet of Misty Step	Free Misty Step
Ring	Crusher’s Ring	Increase Movement
Ring	Caustic Band	+2 Acid damage
Weapon 1 Main Hand	Sword of Justice	Free Shield of Faith
Weapon 2 Ranged	Hunting Shortbow	Hunter’s Mark Spell

Below is the Best Act 1 Armour, Weapons, and Equipment for the Tempest Domain Cleric in BG3:

• Haste Helm: Chest in the Blighted Village X 32, Y 403 (Alternatives Cap of Wrath, or Shadow of Menzoberranzan).
• Adamantine Splint Armour: Complete Adamantine Forge Quest (X: -593 Y: 309) (alternative Luminous Armour, or Githyanki Half Plate).
• Gloves of the Growling Underdog: Looted from the chest behind Razglin’s throne room (Alternatives Gloves of Dexterity, or Gloves of Hail of Thorns).
• Disintegrating Night Walkers: Looted or stolen from Nere in Grymforge (Alternatives Linebreaker Boots, Boots of Striding, or Boots of Genial Striding).
• Amulet of Misty Step: Chest behind the ogre Polma in the Defiled Temple within the Goblin Camp (Alternative Moondrop Pendant).
• Crusher’s Ring: Looted or stolen from Crusher in the Goblin camp (Alternatives Ring of Flinging, or The Sparkswall).
• Caustic Band: Sold by Derryth Bonecloak at Myconid Colony, Underdark (Alternatives  Fetish of Callarduran Smoothhands, or Ring of Absolute Force).
• Sword of Justice: Looted from Anders in the Risen Road Toll House (Alternative Silver Sword of the Astral Plane or Everburn Blade.
• Hunting Shortbow: Sold by Dammon in the Druid Grove.

Advanced: Act 3 End Game

The following table presents the best advanced and end-game gear for the Best Baldur’s Gate 3 Tempest Domain Cleric Build Guide:

Gear Slot	Best Gear Item	Effect
Head	Helm of Balduran	Cannot be Stunned
Cape	Fleshmelter Cloak	Acid Attackers
Chest	Helldusk Armour	21 AC
Gloves	Gauntlets of Hill Giant Strength	23 Strength
Boots	Helldusk Boots	Hellcrawler Action
Necklace	Amulet of Greater Health	23 Constitution
Ring	Killer’s Sweetheart	Auto Critical
Ring	Ring Of Regeneration	Heal every turn
Weapon 1 Main Hand	Balduran’s Giantslayer	Free Giant Form
Weapon 2 Ranged	Darkfire Shortbow	Free Haste

Below are the Best Act 3 Armour, Weapons, and Equipment for the Tempest Domain Cleric in BG3:

• Helm of Balduran: Found in Dragon’s Sanctum X: 636 Y: -964 (Alternatives Helldusk Helmet, Sarevok’s Horned Helmet, or Mask of Soul Perception).
• Fleshmelter Cloak: Looted from Aelis Siryasius in the Lower City Sewers (Alternative Cloak of Protection).
• Helldusk Armour: Looted from fighting Raphael House of Hope (Alternative Armour of Persistence).
• Gauntlets of Hill Giant Strength: Obtained in Archive of the House of Hope (Alternatives Legacy of the Masters, Gloves of Soul Catching, or Helldusk Gloves).
• Helldusk Boots: Wyrm’s Rock Fortress X: -32 Y: 219 Act 3 (Alternative Disintegration Night Walkers).
• Amulet of Greater Health: Looted from the Archive in the House of Hope (Alternatives Surgeon’s Subjugation Amulet, or Periapt of Wound Closure).
• Killer’s Sweetheart: Obtained from the Self-Same Trial in the Gauntlet of Shar in Act 2 (Alternatives Ring of Protection, or Risky Ring).
• Ring of Regeneration: Found in Lorroakan’s Projection store (Alternatives Shifting Corpus Ring, or Ring of Free Action).
• Balduran’s Giantslayer: Obtained as a reward for completing the Wyrmway trial (Alternative Sword of Chaos).
• Darkfire Shortbow: Sold by trader Dammon Act 2 Last Light Inn, Act 2.

Consumables, Potions and Items

The following list represents the best individual use consumable items that will aid in our Tempest Domain Cleric Build:

• 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 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.
• Elixir of Darkvision: (only non-Darkvision race): Drink to gain the ability to see in the dark up to 12m.

Tempest Domain Cleric Combat, Gameplay Tips, and Tricks

Here are 10 gameplay tips and tricks for playing a Tempest Domain Cleric in Baldur’s Gate 3:

1. Inflict Wounds: this is your highest damage spell early, then transition to more weapon attacks as you progress.
2. Big Attack: Use a Guided strike for a +10 attack when you need it.
3. Summon: Use a combination of Spiritual Weapon, Guardian, and Animate Dead for free allies.
4. Crowd Control: CC opponents with Blind, and Command to take less damage overall.
5. Bonus Action: Use your bonus action damage dealing with subclass feature.
6. Guiding Bolt: this is your best-ranged spell early and you can scale it with higher spell slots.
7. AOE: use a Smokepowered Bomb or Glyph of Warding for area damage.
8. Consumables: Take advantage of a Potion of Speed when you need multiple actions per turn.
9. Scrolls: Keep scrolls of powerful spells with you if you lack Wisdom stat or spell slots.
10. Cantrips: use Sacred Flame or cantrips when out of spell slots.

Remember, this build guide serves as a foundation, and you can always adapt it to suit your preferences and the needs of your campaign. Enjoy playing as a formidable The Best Tempest Domain Cleric Build!

Best Baldur’s Gate 3 Tempest Cleric Build Summary Guide

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