Baldur’s Gate 3 – The Differences Between Sorcerer, Warlock and Wizard

At first glance, Baldur’s Gate 3 can be pretty overwhelming for new players and that’s before you even leave the character creation screen. One point of confusion often brought up by beginners not familiar with the classes is the key differences between the Sorcerer, Warlock and Wizard. In this guide, we’ll break down each of the magic-oriented classes so you have a better understanding about their strengths, weaknesses and limitations.

For the most part, the Sorcerer, Warlock and WIzard classes are all pretty much rooted in magical prowess. Each class comes with a large variety of offence and defence-based spells to use, though depending on your choice, there could be some limitations. Let’s take a look at what sets them apart.

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The Differences Between Sorcerer, Warlock and Wizard in Baldur’s Gate 3

Sorcerer

Initially, you might be wondering what makes the Sorcerer so unique to your standard Wizard. In most RPGs, they’re usually one and the same but in Baldur’s Gate 3, the Sorcerer comes with its own range of perks that the Wizard class doesn’t have access to. Have a look at the bullet points below to understand the Sorcerer’s main abilities and perks:

• The Sorcerer’s primary ability is Charisma, meaning they’re just as much masters of words as they are masters of magic. They also have saving throw proficiencies in Constitution and Charisma, though in the case of Constitution, you’ll rarely find a situation that really requires a strict check for it.
• Sorcerers have innate magical abilities unlike Wizards, who accumulate their magical talent from studying spells and spell books.
• Thanks to having an innate connection to magic, Sorcerers can cast spells without the need for preparation or study. As a result, they can replenish resources in short rests as opposed to long rests.
• At its core, Sorcerers are what the DnD community likes to call “caster blasters.” If you’re looking for a class that provides raw, wide-ranged magical power, Sorcerers have an advantage over the others. This is mainly thanks to their unique metamagic, a class-specific bonus power that alters the properties of your spells for bigger damage or better support for your party. Spells can hit harder and have more devastating impact depending on the metamagic you pair it with.

Warlock

Warlocks, on the other hand, are a popular class for many thanks to a few key differences. Warlocks tend to be great multi-class options if you’re looking to pair the abilities of two classes together. Here’s all you need to understand the Warlock:

• Like Sorcerers, the Warlock’s primary ability is Charisma, making them excellent for dialogue checks.
• While Sorcerers and Wizards don’t have proficiencies with Light Armour, Warlocks do, meaning it will increase your survivability (though Mage Armour also does the trick).
• Warlocks have access to Eldritch Blast from the start, which is (in my opinion) the best and most powerful spell in Baldur’s Gate 3. Once levelled up, Eldritch Blast becomes a far-reaching and absolutely devastating ability.
• Warlocks also have proficiency in Simple weapons, making them excellent spellswords that can balance using melee and magical actions efficiently. This is also why they’re a great option for multi-classing. If you choose Pact of the Blade as your subclass, you can bind any melee weapon to you. Damage is dealt with your Charisma Modifier.
• Unfortunately, Warlocks don’t have as many spell slots as Wizards, so you’ll often have a limited amount of magical abilities at your disposal. That’s worth keeping in mind if you opt to build a pure magic-based Warlock.

Wizard

The Wizard is the jack of all trades magical class in Baldur’s Gate 3, though this doesn’t necessarily make them less efficient in spellcasting. If you’re looking for a class that has a good amount of spell slots and a selection of basically every spell in the game, look no further:

• Unlike Sorcerers and Warlocks, the primary ability of a Wizard is Intelligence, making them masters of the arcane arts.
• Wizards also don’t have much armour protection and they can’t equip any level of armour, meaning they have to lean into using their magical abilities during combat. In most cases, this can be mitigated with Mage Armour.
• Wizards have the most diverse range of spells at their disposal, from offensive and defensive to healing and support, making them perfect for tailoring their arsenal to suit any specific challenge.
• Wizards have plenty of subclasses but most players gravitate towards using Evocation since it provides the deadliest attack spells, ensuring you can control the battlefield and have a much wider variety of magic for different strategies.
• The biggest setback with a Wizard is their low HP. To play a Wizard effectively, it requires you to hang back and cast spells from a distance to avoid punishing attacks from enemies.

There you have it. Whether you’re playing a Sorcerer, Warlock or Wizard, remember that every class is viable and requires a deep understanding of their abilities to be most effective in battle. Any class that primarily leans into magic might be tricky to learn in the initial stages of Baldur’s Gate 3 but they become incredibly powerful as you level up.

Baldur’s Gate 3 is now available for PS5 and PC. Make sure you also check out our guides for the best and worst classes in the game as well as our beginner’s guide.