This guide focuses on the best Cleric build in Baldur’s Gate 3, the Trickery Domain subclass, and includes all components to create a powerful character.
This build page has been updated for the patch 6 version of Baldur’s Gate 3.
Trickery Domain Cleric Class Introduction
The Cleric class in Baldur’s Gate 3 is a divine spellcaster focused on support to heal, buff, and protect their allies. They are also capable of dealing damage with their spells and weapons. Clerics are proficient with simple weapons, light, and medium armor, and shields. Their primary ability score is Wisdom and primarily help with crowd control, healing, buffs, and dealing damage occasionally.
For this Best Baldur’s Gate 3 Trickery Domain Cleric Build, we will use the Trickery Domain subclass which is the default build for Shadowheart companion. The Trickery Domain focuses on deceit, illusion, and subterfuge. You will gain many spells, cantrips, and subclass actions that aid in this gameplay. Consider this a support build with a variety of crowd control, illusions, and utility spells.
Trickery Domain Cleric Class Mechanics and Features
The following list are key features and class mechanics of the Trickery Domain Cleric in Baldur’s Gate 3:
- Primary Ability: Wisdom
- Saving Throws: Charisma and Wisdom
- Weapon Proficiency: Simple Weapons
- Armour Proficiency: Light armour, Medium armour, and Shield
- Channel Divinity: a resource to cast turn undead and subclass action.
- Divine Intervention: a one-time class action that can perform one of several large-scale actions.
- Domain Spells: get free subclass spells always prepared.
- Blessing of the Trickster: Grant another creature Advantage on Stealth checks.
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 a 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.
Trickery Domain Subclass
The Trickery Domain subclass primarily focuses on crowd control and utility spells while retaining the Cleric support playstyle. You will be able to heal on this subclass very effectively, and the leveling progression will walk you through a support-style setup with trickery, deception, and illusion utility. This Best Baldur’s Gate 3 Trickery Domain Cleric Build will excel at stunning, crowd-control, and healing.
The Trickery Domain Cleric subclass unlocks the following features and spells:
- Domain Spells (Level 1) – Disguise Self and Charm Person
- Blessing of the Trickster (Level 1) – Grant another creature advantage on Stealth checks.
- Invoke Duplicity (Level 2) – Summon an illusion to distract your enemies. You and your allies receive Advantage on Attack Rolls against a creature if both the attacker and the illusion are within 3m of that creature.
- Domain Spells (Level 3) – Mirror Image and Pass Without Trace
- Domain Spells (Level 5) – Bestow Curse and Fear
- Domain Spells (Level 7) – Polymorph and Dimension Door
- Divine Strike: Poison (Level 8) – Once per turn deal 1-8 Poison damage in addition to your Weapon’s Damage when you make a melee attack.
- Domain Spells (Level 9) – Dominate Person and Seeming
Recommended Backgrounds
Folk Hero is the Best Background for the Trickery Domain Cleric in Baldur’s Gate 3 because you gain two Wisdom-based skills. Both survival and Animal Handling skills are helpful in exploration and dialogue. You want to pick a background that scales with your main stat Wisdom. This choice mostly influences roleplaying and dialogue options aspects and allows you to create unique characters. Additional choices are:
- 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.
- 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.
- 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. No Guild Artisan companions in BG3.
Best Race Choice for Trickery Domain Cleric Build
The High Elf is the best race choice for the Best Baldur’s Gate 3 Trickery Domain Cleric Build Guide because you can have longsword proficiency along with Darkvision, an extra cantrip, and Fey Ancestry. A secondary choice is the Asmodeus Tiefling because of Hellish Rebuke, fire resistance, and Darkvision.
| High Elf | Asmodeus Tiefling |
|---|---|
| Elven Weapon Training | Hellish Rebuke |
| Extra Cantrip | Hellish Resistances |
| Darkvision | Darkvision |
| Fey Ancestry | Extra 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 Trickery Domain Cleric Build
Medicine and Insight are the best skills for the Trickery Domain Cleric 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 the Trickery Domain Cleric in Baldur’s Gate 3:
- Religion – Intelligence score helps succeed in religion checks.
- Insight – is a Wisdom skill used in dialogue and exploration.
Best Cleric Ability Scores
Below is the best ability score to unlock the full potential of the Best Baldur’s Gate 3 Trickery Domain Cleric Build Guide:
| Ability | Score |
|---|---|
| Strength | 8 |
| Dexterity | 14 |
| Constitution | 16 |
| Intelligence | 10 |
| Wisdom | 16 |
| Charisma | 10 |
The best ability score for the Trickery Domain Cleric is 16 Wisdom followed by 16 Constitution and 14 Dexterity. Wisdom influences your spells power and percentage to land while Constitution increases health and helps with concentration saving throws. Dexterity is also important and 14 gives us +2 to AC while wearing medium armor. The 16, 16, 14 setup is optimal for this Domain Trickery build.
During character creation, the game will automatically distribute your abilities in the character creation abilities tab. You will need to reprioritize the stats for the chart for the Best Baldur’s Gate 3 Trickery Domain Cleric Build Guide. Simply use the plus-minus in the character creator and make sure you have the suggested race, or the numbers will be off.
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.
Trickery Domain Cleric Spell Slots
Here is a list of the Trickery 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 |
Trickery 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 the Best Baldur’s Gate 3 Trickery 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.
Trickery Domain Cleric Level Progression
Level 1
Level one follow our character creator to pick all correct background, race, skills, and ability score focusing on Wisdom and Dexterity. At Level 1, you will unlock three cantrips and pick three prepared spells. Cantrips are reusable and don’t require a spell slot resource. Prepared spells can be swapped in and out before combat, so make sure to use the loadout at the end of the level for a helpful guide.
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.
- Healing Word (Domain Spell): 1d4 Heal a creature you can see up to 18m away with 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.
- Inflict Wounds: 3d10 damage necrotic. Used in melee range for good damage.
- 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.
- Shield of Faith: use a bonus action to grant 2 AC to a character. Useful because this spell requires bonus action, not an action to provide protection.
Subclass Feature
- Domain Spells – Disguise Self and Charm Person
- Blessing of the Trickster – Grant another creature advantage on Stealth checks.
At level one, your best combination for healing is Healing Word and Cure Wounds. Healing Word is a bonus action while Cure Wounds is an action. Thus, you can pair these two together in one turn for powerful healing. Both spells will see enchanted versions of themselves later in levels, so this combination will repeat itself throughout the leveling process.
Guiding Bolt in early levels is God-tier damage, while inflict wounds is slightly higher. The strength of a guiding bolt is its range, and it grants advantage to the next attacker. This allows someone to roll two D20. You don’t necessarily want to use your spell slots early on guiding bolt, but if a target must die, this is the spell to use. For damage, mainly use Fire Bolt cantrip if you have access to it, or pick High Half-Elf racial choice. Sacred Flame is another great option as well for cantrip damage.
Trickery Domain Cleric at Level 1
Your subclass unlocks at this level, and throughout you will get access to always-prepared spells. This means you don’t have to drop a spell to put it in your spell book. That will help with variety and versatility in spell casting. Blessing of the Trickster is unlocked which helps with stealth checks, aka stealing and pickpocketing. If you play with a rogue, or you want to sneak yourself, this is useful.
Your goal at this level is to keep people alive, provide buffs, and do damage when everyone is topped off on health. This continues throughout as this is a support build setup. Look to wear medium armour and one hand and shield. This will keep your Armour Class (AC) high, lowering the enemy’s chance to hit you. Also, rely on cantrips in early levels when spell slots are very low, and expect a big boost in power at levels 5 and 9 when you learn more powerful spells.
Trickery Domain Cleric Gameplay & Priorities
During the early phase of BG3, your Cleric should equip a One-Handed weapon and Shield as soon as possible. Quarterstaffs can be combined with shields for extra free spells and Armour Class (AC). This will help your defensive potential immensely. Moreover, rely on cantrips for damage when out of spell slots like Sacred Flame. Spell casting can be tough at the start of Baldur’s Gate 3 with limited spell slots. Lastly, look to combine Elixir of Peerless Focus with Potion of Speed. Peerless will help with Advantage for spells that require it while Potion of Speed will give an additional action for 3 turns. These two stack together for a powerful effect early in BG3.
Your overall priority with the Trickery 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
- Act 1 Checklist for step-by-step completion
Following these steps ensures a strong foundation, especially if you plan on playing solo or on Honour Mode difficulty.
Trickery Domain Cleric Level 1 Prepared Spells: Healing Word, Cure Wounds, Guiding Bolt, and Shield of Faith.
Level 2
A Level 2 you will get one channeled divinity charge, Turn Undead, and Invoke Duplicity.
- Turn Undead (class spell): Inflicts Turned. Present your holy symbol and pray. Each undead that can see or hear you is forced to flee from you.
- Command (prepared spell): Command a creature to flee, move closer, freeze, drop to the ground, or drop their weapon. The effect of the command is based on the variant selected.
- Invoke Duplicity (subclass feature) – Summon an illusion to distract your enemies. You and your allies receive Advantage on Attack Rolls against a creature if both the attacker and the illusion are within 3m of that creature.
Trickery Domain Cleric Gameplay at Level 2
Your subclass unlock of Invoke Duplicity is a unique one. This costs an action and requires concentration with a 9m range. The illusion helps the target who’s receiving pressure, or about to go on the offensive. 3m from the illusion, you gain advantage, thus rolling two D20 rather than one. Essentially this is a utility spell to be placed on someone who’s taking damage, about to receive a lot of incoming damage, or expect them to be attacked.
Depending on your initial spells, drop Inflict Wounds and Pickup Command. This is a mega-powerful crowd control, with grovel and drop as my two favorites. Drop is useful on weapon-based damage dealers like the Githyanki, while grovel knocks enemies prone. This is a very powerful crowd-control spell that works later in the game. Shield of Faith is also a great ability due to its AC increase and it mirrors a powerful early-game weapon Sword of Justice.
You will have more crowd control and utility at this level. The biggest issue is that a lot of your spells require concentration. Blessed is another incredible spell for a heavy melee, weapon-based party that helps with overall damage. Pick and choose your concentration spell to cast, and usually on turn one or two that’s the best play. Then rely on non-concentration spells for the other turns. This is not always the case, as sometimes you just need a crowd control ability, and maintaining Bless or Shield of Faith just isn’t worth it. Experiment and don’t be afraid to adjust spells listed here for your playstyle and group composition needs.
Trickery Domain Cleric Level 2 Prepared Spells: Healing Word, Cure Wounds, Command, Guiding Bolt, and Shield of Faith (flex or Blessed for more offensive).
Level 3
At level three the Trickery Domain Cleric receives two spell slots, one newly prepared spell, and two subclass spells, which are always prepared.
- Domain Spells (subclass feature): Unlock two spells that are always prepared Mirror Image and Pass Without Trace.
- Mirror Image (subclass spell): Create 3 illusory duplicates of yourself that distract attackers. Each duplicate increases your Armour Class by 3. Whenever you successfully evade an attack, one of the duplicates disappears.
- Pass Without Trace (subclass spell): Call forth a veil of shadows and silence that gives you and all nearby companions a +10 bonus to Stealth Checks.
- Spiritual Weapon (prepared spell): Summon a floating, spectral weapon that attacks your enemies alongside you.
Two powerful spells are unlocked at this level, Mirror Image and Spiritual Weapon. The spiritual weapon is a bonus action “summon” spell that brings in another creature to fight for you. These are super powerful because they act as a distraction and free damage. This one uses a bonus action and doesn’t require concentration so it’s extraordinarily powerful at this level or beyond.
Mirror Image is simply a god-tier defensive spell that skyrockets your AC, allowing you to avoid attacks until you avoid 3. Use this when you expect heavy incoming damage. Pass Without Trace is a helpful utility spell for sneaking around, which is the premise of this subclass. Turn one typically you cast an offensive or defensive concentration spell like Blessed or Shield of Faith, and a bonus action is spent on Spiritual Weapon. The next turn prioritize healing, crowd control, and then damage if needed.
Trickery Domain Cleric Level 3 Prepared Spells: Healing Word, Cure Wounds, Command, Guiding Bolt, Shield of Faith, Spiritual Weapon.
Level 4
At Level 4 you will now unlock one cantrip, a new prepared spell, and your first feat.
- Light (cantrip selection): Infuse an object with an aura of light. Lasts until Long Rest.
- Lesser Restoration (spell selection): Cure a creature from disease, poison, paralysis, or blindness.
- War Caster (feat selection): You gain Advantage on Saving Throws to maintain Concentration on a spell. You can also use a reaction to cast Shocking Grasp at a target moving out of melee range.
The feat we select at this level is War Caster since nearly everything we do requires concentration. This will help from breaking concentration, allowing us to get the most out of our spells. Ability Improvement of +2 is also helpful because it will unlock more prepared spells and help with spell overall power. We pick up a utility spell and cantrip to help round out our versatility and support Best Baldur’s Gate 3 Trickery Domain Cleric Build Guide.
Trickery Domain Cleric Level 4 Prepared Spells: Healing Word, Cure Wounds, Command, Guiding Bolt, Shield of Faith, Spiritual Weapon, Lesser Restoration.
Level 5
Upon reaching level 5 you will now unlock two level 3 spell slots, the Destroy Undead class feature, two Trickery Domain subclass spells, and be able to select one spell.
- Destroy Undead (class feature): When you’ve successfully Turned an undead using Turn Undead, it also takes 4d6 Radiant damage.
- Domain Spells (subclass feature): Unlock Bestow Curse and Fear spells which are always prepared.
- Bestow Curse (subclass spell): Curse a creature with your touch. The curse either bestows Disadvantage on checks and Saving Throws or attacks, lets you deal additional damage to the target, or robs it of its actions.
- Fear (subclass spell): Project an image so frightening it makes targets drop their weapons and become Fearful. They will be easier to hit and cannot move.
- Mass Healing Word (spell selection): Heal up to 6 allies for 5~8 hit points.
- Animate Dead (spell selection): Create an undead servant from a corpse.
Trickery Domain Cleric Gameplay at Level 5
At this level, we want to drop Shield of Faith and pick up two level 3 spells. If you are using Blessed instead of Shield of Faith, drop another spell like Lesser Restoration. Your subclass will unlock two free spells, with Fear being a very powerful crowd control. It helps enemies drop their weapons, and they cannot move. This is a great counter to weapon-based damage dealers like Githyanki.
Animate Dead is a powerful spell because it summons yet another ally to fight alongside you and stacks with a Spiritual Weapon. Unlike Spiritual Weapon, this corpse summoned last until long rest. So, after every long rest, find a prior battle with a corpse and summon a skeleton for even more damage and utility.
You also select Mass Healing Word, which is an upgraded version, still giving you bonus action-based healing. If you are running out of spell slots, consider dropping Healing Word so you can fit shield or blessed in your prepared spells. Destroy Undead is a great counter to undead but you need to make sure it’s an undead enemy. Right-click on the enemy and select examine. This will show you information including the enemy type so you don’t blow the spell uselessly.
Trickery Domain Cleric Level 5 Prepared Spells: Healing Word, Cure Wounds, Command, Guiding Bolt, Spiritual Weapon, Lesser Restoration, Mass Healing Word, Animate Dead.
Level 6
At Level 6 the Trickery Domain Cleric will unlock one more Level 3 spell slot, channel divinity charge, and one prepared spell.
- Glyph of Warding (prepared spell): Inscribe a circle of arcane glyphs on the ground. When stepped on by an enemy, the selected magical effect will trigger.
So far, the build has almost no area damage so Glyph of Warding can help with this. While we aren’t a damage build, even support builds need to provide some single target and area damage. Now you have Guiding Bolt and Glyph to alternate depending on the situation.
Ending Act 1 as a Trickery Domain Cleric
Around Level 6 you should be close to transitioning out of Act 1. Be sure to check traders and stock up on camp and alchemy supplies. Additionally, make sure to find 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 collect the crafting items before moving on to Act 2, where you won’t be able to return.
Trickery Domain Cleric Level 6 Prepared Spells: Healing Word, Cure Wounds, Command, Guiding Bolt, Spiritual Weapon, Lesser Restoration, Mass Healing Word, Animate Dead, Glyph of Warding
Level 7
When you reach level 7 you will unlock one level 4 spell slot (however, you cannot cast two in one turn), two subclass spells, and one new prepared spell.
- Domain Spells (subclass feature): Unlock Polymorph and Dimension Door spells which are always prepared.
- Polymorph (subclass spell): Transform a creature into a harmless sheep. If the sheep’s hit points drop to 0, the target reverts to its original form with its original hit points.
- Dimension Door (subclass spell): Teleport yourself and up to 1 adjacent ally to a place you can see. The ally cannot be larger than medium.
- 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.
Trickery Domain Cleric Gameplay at Level 7
Level 7 is big, but keep in mind you only unlock 1 spell slot initially. Thus, you need to pick your one level 4 spell carefully. Polymorph is a great single-target stun that should be used when it has a very high chance of landing (70% or higher). Dimension Door is a utility spell but Guardian of Faith is another summon ally we can use to aid in combat.
The strength of Guardian of Faith is the damage it can do to enemies in an area. The downside is, it’s not mobile and you need to be precise with location. The best way to place this is on a choke point or a funnel where the enemy has to come. You can even retreat to make this happen and use your animate dead corpse and spiritual weapon as bait (sorry guys). The amount of damage, distractions, and help these summons provide cannot be overstated. Experiment, but I love using them when available.
Trickery Domain Cleric Level 7 Prepared Spells: Healing Word, Cure Wounds, Command, Guiding Bolt, Spiritual Weapon, Lesser Restoration, Mass Healing Word, Animate Dead, Glyph of Warding
Level 8
When you reach Level 8 you’ll unlock a subclass feature, one Level 4 spell slot, a feat, and one prepared spell.
- Divine Strike: Poison (subclass feature) – Once per turn deal 1-8 Poison damage in addition to your Weapon’s Damage when you make a melee attack.
- Death Ward (prepared spell): Protect a creature from death. The next time damage would reduce it to 0 hit points, it remains conscious with 1 hit point left. Lasts until Long Rest.
- Ability Improvement (feat selection): +2 to Wisdom, primary ability.
Level 8 helps with either +2 to Wisdom or our War Caster to help with concentration. If you take plus two, you will get another spell to slot immediately following confirmation so check your spell book.
Death Ward acts as a oh crap spell for someone in your party. I find it super useful to cast on a melee build like Barbarian or Fighter where they will take a massive amount of damage and possibly die. This will keep them from being down, and if it’s their turn, hopefully, they can use a potion and you can burst heal them the following turn.
Divine Strike Poison is a very bizarre subclass unlock that won’t fit with our build. We aren’t going to strike with weapons, mainly Fire Bolt for free damage as it will do more than nearly any weapon attack without advanced gear.
Trickery Domain Cleric Level 8 Prepared Spells: Healing Word, Cure Wounds, Command, Guiding Bolt, Spiritual Weapon, Lesser Restoration, Mass Healing Word, Animate Dead, Glyph of Warding, Death Ward.
Trickery Domain Cleric Level 8 Prepared Spells: Healing Word, Cure Wounds, Command, Guiding Bolt, Spiritual Weapon, Lesser Restoration, Mass Healing Word, Animate Dead, Glyph of Warding, Death Ward.
Level 9
At Level 9 you’ll unlock one level 5 spell slot, two prepared spells for extra wisdom, and two subclass spells.
- Domain Spells (subclass feature) Unlock Dominate Person and Seeming spells which are always prepared.
- Mass Cure Wounds (spell selection): Unleash a soothing hum of energy that heals you and nearby allies for 7~28 hit points.
- Flame Strike (spell selection): Make a pillar of divine fire roar down from the heavens like the wrath of affronted angels.
- Beacon of Hope (spell replacement): Your allies will regain the maximum hit points possible when healed. They also gain Advantage on Wisdom Saving Throws and Death Saving Throws
Trickery Domain Cleric Gameplay at Level 9
Level 9 is a massive spike in power with level 5 spell unlocks. Again, you only can cast one at this level so be careful about which you select. You want to drop Glyph of Warding for Flame Strike, which will now serve as a good area base damage spell. The two prepared unlocks are good utility spells with Beacon of Hope and Mass Cure Wounds adding massive value to your healing potential.
What Beacon of Hope does is ensure you have maximum healing potential. This spell naturally takes concentration to maintain but is useful when you KNOW the fight will be spent healing. You want to cast this on turn one, spiritual weapon as bonus action then goes into healing mode. With both Mass Cure Wounds (now multiple allies) and Mass Healing Word, you have two ways to heal per turn. Mass Cure Wounds is an action, an upgraded version, and Mass Healing Word a bonus action, is also upgraded. With Beacon of Hope running, you will burst up your entire team to full in one turn. Your damage comes from the summons and allies doing free damage, but the burst healing potential from this level forward is incredible.
Trickery Domain Cleric Level 9 Prepared Spells: Healing Word, Cure Wounds, Command, Guiding Bolt, Spiritual Weapon, Lesser Restoration, Mass Healing Word, Animate Dead, Death Ward, Mass Cure Wounds, Flame Strike, Beacon of Hope.
Level 10
Upon reaching Level 10 you’ll now unlock another Level 5 spell slot, Divine Intervention, a cantrip, and can choose another prepared spell.
- Divine Intervention (class feature): You can cast Divine Intervention to invoke your God’s aid. Once used, this can never be used again.
- Blade Ward (cantrip selection): Take only half of the damage from Bludgeoning, Piercing, and Slashing attacks.
- Banishment (spell selection): Temporarily Banish your target to another plane of existence.
At this level we unlock a good single target stun Banishment and an odd Cleric feature Divine Intervention. This is a once-per-game spell with one of the spells doing huge area base damage. You want to save this for the final fight or a boss you just cannot beat, otherwise gameplay remains unchanged.
Trickery Domain Cleric Level 10 Prepared Spells: Healing Word, Cure Wounds, Command, Guiding Bolt, Spiritual Weapon, Lesser Restoration, Mass Healing Word, Animate Dead, Death Ward, Mass Cure Wounds, Flame Strike, Beacon of Hope, Banishment
Trickery Domain Cleric Level 10 Prepared Spells: Healing Word, Cure Wounds, Command, Guiding Bolt, Spiritual Weapon, Lesser Restoration, Mass Healing Word, Animate Dead, Death Ward, Mass Cure Wounds, Flame Strike, Beacon of Hope, Banishment
Level 11
Level 11 of the Trickery Domain Cleric unlocks one level 6 spell slot, and learns one new spell for a total of 15 prepared spells.
- Planar Ally (spell selection): Beseech one of these otherworldly entities for aid.
At level 6 you get only one spell slot and will not gain an additional spell slot. There are two Quarterstaves that bypass this issue in Act 3: the Staff of Spellpower or Markoheshki. With either of these quarterstaves, you can negate a spell slot, essentially cheesing two level 6 spell slots.
At this level, two amazing spells last until a long rest Planar Ally and Heroes’ Feast. Pick Planar Ally at this level and summon a Cambion which has good health, high movement speed, and big damage. The best part of the Planar Ally is it stacks with other summons, thus you can have a little team roaming with you until a long rest! Free damage, utility, and distractions.
Trickery Domain Cleric Level 11 Prepared Spells: Healing Word, Cure Wounds, Command, Guiding Bolt, Spiritual Weapon, Lesser Restoration, Mass Healing Word, Animate Dead, Death Ward, Mass Cure Wounds, Flame Strike, Beacon of Hope, Banishment, Planar Ally.
Level 12
Level 12 is the last and final level in Baldur’s Gate 3! The Trickery Domain Cleric will unlock another spell selection and the final feat.
- Heroes’ Feast (spell selection): You and everyone around can’t be poisoned, diseased, or frightened. Your HP increases, and you make Wisdom Saves with Advantage.
- Ability Improvement (feat selection): Add a +2 to your Wisdom score
You’ve reached the max level in Baldur’s Gate 3, take another +2 to Wisdom to reach the max of 20. Select the Hereoes’ Feast spell and try to obtain either Staff of Spellpower or Markoheshki to cast two level 6 spells both of which last until long rest. You should feel very powerful at this level. The healing spell at level 6 is powerful, but single target, and isn’t as useful as the combo of healing words, and cure wounds in my opinion. This doesn’t only burst up one player, but your entire team. And in tough fights, rarely is it just one player needing healing. Look below for gear suggestions on our Best Baldur’s Gate 3 Trickery Domain Cleric Build Guide.
Trickery Domain Cleric Level 12 Prepared Spells: Healing Word, Cure Wounds, Command, Guiding Bolt, Spiritual Weapon, Lesser Restoration, Mass Healing Word, Animate Dead, Death Ward, Mass Cure Wounds, Flame Strike, Beacon of Hope, Banishment, Planar Ally, Heroes’ Feast.
Trickery Domain Cleric Companions
For Cleric Build, we do not recommend a support role like Shadowhear. You can alternatively respec her if you like that character, but keep to two damage dealers, one support, and one ranged build.
- Lae’zel (Fighter): 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
When putting your party together, consider companions for not only their combat prowess but also their outside abilities and skills that can influence storytelling, dialogue, and exploration. A balanced party will fit the traditional RPG ‘holy trinity’: Tank, Healer, and DPS. Ideally, in Baldur’s Gate 3 you are going to want one tank, one healer, one melee DPS, and one range DPS. Some classes/subclasses can cover both roles, so feel free to experiment and find out what works best for you.
Recommended Gear
In Games like Baldur’s Gate 3, you’ll explore the world, loot chests and your enemies’ dead bodies, and complete quests and all those activities can reward you with useful items, potions, armor, weapons, scrolls, and much more. There are three Acts in BG3, and Best Baldur’s Gate 3 Trickery Domain Build Guide includes suggested sets and alternatives for Act 1 and Act 3.
Beginner: Act 1
Here’s the best beginner gear for the Best Baldur’s Gate 3 Trickery Domain Cleric Build Guide:
| Gear Slot | Best Gear Item | Effect |
|---|---|---|
| Head | Wapira’s Crown | Additional Healing |
| Cape | – | |
| Chest | Adamantine Scale Mail | 16 AC |
| Gloves | Hellrider’s Pride | Heals give resistance |
| Boots | Boots of Aid and Comfort | Additional Temporary HP |
| Necklace | Amulet of Misty Step | Misty Step Spell |
| Ring | Ring of Absolute Force | Thunderwave Spell |
| Ring | The Whispering Promise | Healing gives Blessed |
| Weapon 1 Main Hand | Staff of Arcane Blessing | Free Blessed Spell |
| Weapon 1 Off-Hand | Adamantine Shield | +2 AC |
| Weapon 2 Ranged | Bow of Awareness | +1 Initiative |
Below is the best Act 1 Armor, Weapons, and Equipment for Trickery Domain Cleric in BG3:
- Wapira’s Crown: Reward from Zelvor for killing 3 leaders and the Goblin camp (alternative Haste Helm).
- Adamantine Scale Armour: Complete Adamantine Forge Quest (X: -593 Y: 309) (alternative Luminous Armour, or Githyanki Half Plate).
- Hellrider’s Pride: Can be bought, stolen, or earned from Zevolr (alternatives Gloves of Missile Snaring, or Gloves of Hail of Thorns).
- Boots of Aid and Comfort: Sold by Grat The Trader at the Goblin Camp (alternatives Disintegrating Night Walkers, or Boots of Striding).
- Amulet of Misty Step: Found in a Gilded Chest (X386 Y8) in a Defiled Temple (alternative Moondrop Pendant).
- Ring of Absolute Force: Dropped by Sergeant Thrinn in Grymforge (alternative Crusher Ring).
- The Whispering Promise: Volo in Druid’s Grove or from traders (alternative Ring of Colour Spray).
- Staff of Arcane Blessing: Obtained in Arcane Tower (alternatives The Watcher’s Guide, Spellsparkler, or Staff of Crones).
- Adamantine Shield: Complete the Adamantine Forge Quest in Grymforge (alternatives Glowing Shield, or Wood Woad Shield).
- Bow of Awareness: Sold by Roah Moonglow in the Shattered Sanctum.
Advanced: Act 3 End Game
The following table presents the best advanced and end-game gear for the Best Baldur’s Gate 3 Trickery Domain Cleric Build Guide:
| Gear Slot | Best Gear Item | Effect |
|---|---|---|
| Head | Helm of Balduran | Cannot be Stunned |
| Cape | Mantle of the Holy Warrior | Free Crusader’s Mantle Spell |
| Chest | Helldusk Armour | 21 AC, Grants Proficiency |
| Gloves | The Reviving Hands | Healed Gain Blade Ward |
| Boots | Helldusk Boots | Cannot be Moved |
| Necklace | Amulet of Greater Health | 23 Constitution |
| Ring | Crypt Lord Ring | Free Create Undead |
| Ring | Till Death Do Us Part | Free Beacon of Hope |
| Weapon 1 Main Hand | The Blood of Lathander | Sunbeam and Healing |
| Weapon 1 Off-Hand | Viconia’s Walking Fortress | 3 AC, Reflect Spell |
| Weapon 2 | Darkfire Shortbow | Free Haste Spell |
Below is the best Act 3 Armor, Weapons, and Equipment for Trickery Domain Cleric in BG3:
- Helm of Balduran: Found on an altar next to Ansur in The Wyrmway, Act 3. (Alternative Helldusk Helmet).
- Mantle of the Holy Warrior: Sold by Vicar Humbletoes in Stormshore Tabernacle (Alternative Cloak of the Weave, or Cloak of Protection).
- Helldusk Armour: Looted from Raphael in the House of Hope (Alternative Armour of Persistence).
- The Reviving Hands: Sold by Vicar Humbletoes (Alternative Jhannyl’s Gloves).
- Helldusk Boots: Chest on the top floor of Wyrm’s Rock Fortress (Alternative Disintegrating Night Walkers).
- Amulet of Greater Health: Archive in the House of Hope (Alternative Amulet of the Devout, or Spellcrux Amulet).
- Crypt Lord Ring: The Mystic Carrion’s Servant quest (Alternative Shifting Corpus Ring)
- Till Death Do Us Part: Looted from Lady Jannath, Act 3. (Alternative Ring of Free Action)
- The Blood of Lathander: The Blood of Lathander quest in Act 2 (Alternative Selûne’s Spear of Night, or Markoheshkir).
- Viconia’s Walking Fortress: Looted from Viconia DeVir during Shadowheart’s companion quest in Act 3 (Alternative Shield of Devotion).
- Darkfire Shortbow: Sold by Dammon Last Light Inn Act 2.
Consumables, Potions, and Items
Consumables are items that can be used once and then destroyed. They are typically used to restore health or other resources. Some common types of consumables include potions, scrolls, food, drinks, and arrows.
The following list represents the best individual use consumable items that will aid in our Trickery Domain Cleric Build:
- Potion of Invisibility: Become invisible for 1 minute. Attacking or casting spells ends the status.
- Elixir of Peerless Focus: gain advantage on concentration saves (ingredients Sublimate of Belladona, and any ashes).
- Potion of Speed: 3 turns of an increased action via the Haste condition.
- Potion of Flying: 10 turns of flying.
- Potion of Angelic Slumber: fall asleep for two turns, then restore all spell slots, hit points, and abilities.
- Elixir of Vigilance: gain +5 bonus initiative and you cannot be surprised (ingredients sublimate of bloodstained hook, any ashes).
- Superior Elixir of Arcane Cultivation: gain a level 3 spell slot (ingredients Solution of Night Orchid, any Vitriol).
- Elixir of Viciousness: increase your critical hit chance (ingredients Vitriol of Shadowroot Sac, any Ashes).
- Elixir of Universal Resistance: gain resistance to all damage (ingredients Vitriol of Divine Miasma, any Sublimate).
Trickery Cleric Combat, Gameplay Tips, and Tricks
Here are 10 gameplay tips and tricks for playing a Trickery Domain Cleric in Baldur’s Gate 3:
- Prioritize Healing Allies: Concentrate on mending your comrades rather than dealing damage, allowing your heavy hitters to focus on offense.
- Efficient Bonus Action Healing: Maximize the effectiveness of your bonus action healing by pairing it with your primary action healing.
- Pre-Battle Blessings: Cast the Shield of Faith before entering combat to save an action.
- Control the Crowd: Utilize spells like Blind and Command to control opponents, reducing the overall damage your party takes.
- Cantrip Conservation: When low on spell slots or not committed to major offensive spells, rely on cantrips to preserve your spell slots for crucial moments.
- Guiding Bolt’s Impact: At the outset, employ Guiding Bolt as your significant damage-dealing spell, ideally on the first turn when allies don’t require healing.
- Area vs. Single Target: Ensure you extract maximum value from each spell by positioning yourself correctly and employing area-based healing when multiple players need assistance.
- Leveraging Consumables: When you need multiple actions per turn, take advantage of items like the Potion of Speed.
- Health Potion Preparedness: Ensure your teammates have healing potions readily available, especially if they are out of your line of sight or require significant healing.
- Optimal Range: Maintain a medium range where you can provide both melee healing and deal damage without straying too far from your teammates’ line of sight.
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 Best Baldur’s Gate 3 Trickery Domain Cleric Build Guide!
Build Summary – Best Baldur’s Gate 3 Trickery Domain Cleric Build
Subclass Trickery Domain
Armor: Medium
Weapons: One Hand & Shield
Background – Folk Hero
- Strength – 8
- Dexterity – 14
- Constitution – 16
- Intelligence – 10
- Wisdom – 16
- Charisma -10
Level Progression
- Level 1 – Guiding Bolt Spell
- Level 2 – Command
- Level 3 – Spiritual Weapon Spell
- Level 4 – War Caster Feat
- Level 5 – Animate Dead
- Level 6 – Glyph of Warding
- Level 7 – Guardian of Faith
- Level 8 – +2 Wisdom Feat
- Level 9 – Flame Strike
- Level 10 – Banishment
- Level 11 – Planar Ally
- Level 12 – +2 Wisdom Feat
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