A Guide to Building and Playing Sorcerers (2024)

This is only a loose guide for spell choices. You may want other spells depending on what you want your sorc to do. Also, please note that this run-down is not especially party-friendly. You may choose to take Haste earlier because you want to buff up your party with it. You may choose to take other CC spells in favor of the damage spells I prefer. It's all a matter of preference.

Spell choices: 1st level
Acid Spray, Niac's Cold Ray
Niacs is for single-target damage output. It is the highest damage spell for first level available, and it works well on early mobs, especially casters.

Spell Choice: 2nd level
Hypnotism
Will save spell, useful for making groups of mobs stand still. A sorceror can spam cast 2-3 hypnotisms and render entire crowds immobile. I recommend taking this at 2nd level to help control crowds.

Spell Choice: 3rd Level
Charm Person
At early levels you will want to be able to short-man quests, and you will want to be able to take control of the baddies to fight for you. Charm Person works on kobolds and hobgoblins, the common enemies in the early game.A sorceror should remember melee mobs have low will, and caster mobs have low dex, so charm the fighting types and kill the caster types.

Spell Choice: 4th level
Web or Resist Energy
Web is the fundamental crowd control spell in the game. Learn it, use it, and master it. Being able to use this spell effectively will help you use others later down the line. Resist energy is a MUST HAVE for a sorceror. Taking this spell early also makes your sorceror more able to short-man quests for quicker experience. You can make due with your first level spells for CC and damage. A veteran may also prefer to take Resist Energy first, since they should have experience with the types of energy enemy spell casters will use on various difficulty levels, and for being prepared for traps.

Spell Choice: 5th Level

Web or Resist Energy
Whichever one is not chosen at 4th, take it at 5th.

Spell Chice: 6th Level
Fireball, Haste or Acid Blast
Everybody loves haste. You know you can't live without it. At low levels there is nothing like hasting a fighter. Alternatively, like in my case, I solo a lot through lower levels and prefer having fireball. I don't need to attack fast, and I can use striders to run past monsters and gather them up in a group for a single mass kill with a well-placed fireball. Acid Blast is Fireball with the acid damage type. I actually prefer Acid Blast to Fireball, as it damages pretty much everything in quests.

Spell Choice: 7th Level
2nd Level - Blur
3rd Level - Fireball / Haste / Lightning Bolt / Acid Blast
Blur will be your first defensive buff. KEEP YOURSELF BLURRED. You have no AC. Damage avoidance is your only way to survive. I chose to add Lightning Bolt here as an alternative to magic missile for killing the boss in Stormcleave, as well as for use on other fire immunes if Niac's isn't landing for you. Alternatively, you may use Acid Blast the same way you use Fireball, for the same things you'd use Lightning Bolt. Lots of options here.

Spell Choice: 8th level
8th level spell selection is very subjective. It depends on your build. Are you an instant-death build? You want PK. Are you a direct damage build? You want Wall of Fire. Are you a charm build? Charm monster.
My chosen spell at this level is Wall of Fire.

A Guide to Building and Playing Sorcerers (1)


Spell Choices: 9th level
W00T!! We get 3 spells this level!
2nd Level - Scorching Ray
3rd Level - Displacement
4th Level - Wall of Fire
Displacement is a MUST HAVE for a sorceror. 50% miss chance will save your tail regularly. Use this spell, and use it often when you get aggro.
Scorching Ray - staple single-target damage spell. At low levels it is less useful, due to 1 ray only. It now has 2.
Wall of Fire - Staple damage over time, area of effect spell. Learn to love it. You'll be jumping around in it like a jackrabbit on crack.

Spell Choices: 10th level
5th level - Hold Monster or Ball Lightning
Hold Monster is your new Melee destruction spell. Being attacked by a fighter type mob? HOLD THEM. Will save spell. Ball Lightning is like a lightning Fireball with higher damage dice cap. It can replace Acid Blast.

Recommended spell swap:
Hypnotism for Jump
With your casting speed on hold monster, hypnotism is not necessary. Use web for group control, if necessary.
Acid Blast for Haste

Spell Choices: 11th Level
3rd Level - Protection from energy
4th Level - Stoneskin
5th Level - Cone of Cold
Displacement and Stoneskin are your armor. Use it, love it. Live it.
Protection from energy may seem like it is unnecessary, but you won't think so when you get hit with 100 damage lightning and 180 damage polar rays. Damage mitigation is your friend. Cone of Cold is your new burning hands, except much better. Especially useful on fire monsters.

Spell choices: 12th level
6th Level - Flesh to Stone or Disintegrate
This spell is your new caster-stopper. It is a fort save, and clerics/caster types have low con. Use it, and love it. Spam it, if you must. Damage dealers may choose disintegrate, which kills golems easily and damages other constructs. It also can kill many caster enemies in one shot.

Spell Choices: 13th Level
4th Level-Enervation
5th level-Break Enchantment
6th Level-Flesh to Stone
Enervation is your debuff spell. Hit tough mobs with an enervation (it has no save) and then PK to your heart's content.
Break Enchantment is great for clearing away enemy AoE effects.
Flesh to Stone is a nice spell to have for situational purposes, and is also a great enemy caster stopper.

Spell Choice: 14th Level
7th - Finger of Death
Single fortitude save or die, consider to replace PK unless you LOVE instant kills. This spell will kill caster monsters instantly 95% of the time.

Consider swapping PK for Dimension Door. Dimension Door scrolls are rare and valuable, and it's a great utility spell to have. Another option is Fire Shield, which makes you immune to webs and reduces fire/cold damage by 50%.

Spell Choice: 15th Level
5th - Protection from Elements OR your choice - It's nice to cast protections just once, and since our choices at level 5 are thin, you can also decide to take any other spell that catches your eye. Replaces Protection from Energy, swap this for Rage (+2 Strength, Constitution) for more hit points
6th - Reconstruct - You will be expected to have this spell to heal warforged tanks in raids. You need not invest in the enhancements if you don't feel like it.
7th - Waves of Exhaustion or Delayed Blast Fireball - Waves is a great debuff spell. Minus 6 to strength and dexterity AoE. Gives -3 to hit, damage, and armor class for enemies and slows them down. Works great on BBEG types. Delayed Blast Fireball is a 20d6 capped Fireball. It should replace many of your AoE burst damage spells, with exception for when monsters are immune.

Spell Choice: 16th Level
Polar Ray - Ice damage ray spell, no save. Works great on fire elementals, and BBEG types that have high saves and/or evasion.

Spell Choice: 17th Level
Incendiary Cloud - lower fire damage damage-over-time. Works well on the Abbot. Burns for a very, very long time.
or
Otto's Irresistable Dance - Great spell, no save single-target crowd control. It's only drawback is the casting range, which is touch, and is subject to spell resistance.

Spell Choice: 18th Level
Wail of the Banshee - Area of Effect Finger of Death centered on the caster, fortitude save or die and subject to spell resistance. Extremely useful for killing groups of low fortitude monsters like fire bats in VOD, or mephits in Genesis Point. Also great for favor running.

Spell Choice: 19th Level
9th level - Energy Drain - 2d4 negative levels, just like enervation. It effectively replaces enervation, therefore:
Swap Enervation for Fire Shield, which has two options, fire and cold versions. Each version reduces damage from the opposite element by 50%, and does a small amount of damage when you are hit. It also makes you immune to web.
8th Level - Trap the Soul - will save or die, bypasses instant death wards. The only problem is that it has very expensive components, and is subject to spell resistance (you dont want to waste components on this one)
or
Repair Critical Damage - Mass - For repairing lots of warforged

Spell Choice: 20th Level
This one is a big toss-up. Make a personal decision here. I currently favor Mass Hold Monster.

A Guide to Building and Playing Sorcerers (2024)

FAQs

What is the best sorcerer class in Baldur's Gate? ›

Draconic Bloodline is the best subclass for the Sorcerer because you gain access to Draconic Resilience, Draconic armour class, and Draconic Ancestor. This allows you to focus on a specific elemental magic type and also have higher survivability.

What book is Wild magic sorcerer in? ›

The sorcerer gains four subclass features at 1st, 6th, 14th, and 18th level. You can read all of the Wild Magic features in the Player's Handbook.

What is the best trait for the sorcerer in bg3? ›

The best skills to focus on for the Sorcerer are deception and sleight of hand. As noted earlier, the Sorcerer should prioritize charisma, constitution, and dexterity.

What is the most powerful sorc build? ›

The most popular builds are the Frozen Orb, Fire Ball & Blizzard sorceress in both single-player and multi-player and are argubly the most effective builds of this class. Most, if not all Sorceress builds use the Energy Shield & Teleport skills for protection and fast movement.

What is the most important stat for a sorcerer? ›

The sorcerer's spellcasting ability is based on their charisma, so naturally, charisma is the number one priority when it comes to stats.

What do sorcerers cast with? ›

Charisma is your spellcasting ability for your sorcerer spells, since the power of your magic relies on your ability to project your will into the world. You use your Charisma whenever a spell refers to your spellcasting ability.

What race is best for a wild magic sorcerer? ›

Drow half-elf is probably your best choice for Wild Magic sorcerer. You gain light armor and shield proficiency, advantage against being charmed and sleep, Darkvision, and the spells Dancing Lights, Faerie Fire, and Darkness. Wood half-elf is also good, with stealth proficiency and increased movement speed.

How many sorcery points per level? ›

You have 2 sorcery points, and you gain one additional point every time you level up, to a maximum of 20 at level 20. You can never have more sorcery points than shown on the table for your level. You regain all spent sorcery points when you finish a long rest.

Which sorceries do the most damage? ›

For sorcerers, you can't go wrong with Swift Glintstone Shard, Carian Slicer, and Comet, with the former two dishing out good damage despite their insanely fast cast speed and the latter best reserved for when your opponent is distracted and won't see your high-damage magic missile coming.

What are the best skills proficiencies for sorcerer? ›

The best Sorcerer skill proficiencies are Arcana and Persuasion. Arcana measures your ability to tap into knowledge about spells, magical items, and entities, while Persuasion impacts your ability to get what you want without resorting to threats of violence or intimidation.

Can sorcerers learn spells? ›

The sheer amount of spells a sorcerer can learn can come across as overwhelming at first, but it gets a lot more manageable when you have a clearer idea of the kind of magic you want your character to perform.

What is the best skill proficiency for a sorcerer? ›

The best Sorcerer skill proficiencies are Arcana and Persuasion. Arcana measures your ability to tap into knowledge about spells, magical items, and entities, while Persuasion impacts your ability to get what you want without resorting to threats of violence or intimidation.

What skill do Sorcerers use? ›

Charisma is your spellcasting ability for your sorcerer spells, since the power of your magic relies on your ability to project your will into the world.

What should Sorcerers be proficient in? ›

Proficiencies
  • Armor: None.
  • Weapons: Daggers, darts, slings, quarterstaffs, light crossbows.
  • Tools: None.
  • Saving Throws: Constitution, Charisma.
  • Skills: Choose two from Arcana, Deception, Insight, Intimidation, Persuasion, and Religion.

What skill is best for sorcerer eso? ›

The best skill for the Sorcerer is Critical Surge which consistently heals the player back whenever they do Critical Damage. Sorcerers in The Elder Scrolls Online can deal massive damage with powerful skills like Crystal Fragments or Crystal Weapon which allow you to summon deadly crystals to hurl at your enemies.

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