This guide focuses on the best Druid build in Baldur’s Gate 3, the Circle of the Land Subclass, and includes all components to build a powerful character.
This build page has been updated for the patch 6 version of Baldur’s Gate 3.
Druid Class Introduction
Druids are spellcasters who wield and manipulate nature magic and can transform into various animals thanks to the Wild Shape ability. They shape-shift into a wolf, bear, spider, and much more, each granting them unique tactical advantages.
This build uses the Circle of the Land subclasses available to Druids, a nature-focused spellcasting class. The Circle of the Land Druid specializes in harnessing the powers and energies of a specific natural environment or terrain type. This subclass is often seen as a guardian and steward of a particular region, and their connection to the land grants them unique abilities related to their chosen terrain.
This build will be a spell-casting damage dealer, not a support build. With the Circle of the Land subclass selection, you get access to great damage spells including area and summons. We won’t be using Wild Shape form for damage but spells with an emphasis on area damage.
Druid Class Features and Mechanics
Here is a list of all the essential Spell Mechanics in Baldur’s Gate 3 for a Druid Build:
- Primary Ability: Wisdom
- Saving Throws: Wisdom, Intelligence
- Armour Proficiency: Light armour, Medium armour, Shields
- Weapon Proficiency: Clubs, Daggers, Javelins, Maces, Quarterstaves, Scimitars, Sickles, Spears
- Saving Throws: Intelligence, Wisdom
- Wild Shape: As an Action, you can assume the form of a beast.
- Natural Recovery: Druids can replenish Spell Slots once per long rest.
- Land’s Stride Difficult Terrain: Difficult Terrain no longer slows you down.
- Nature’s Ward: You can’t be charmed or frightened by elementals and fey. Disease and poison no longer affect you.
Druid Wild Shape Explained
In Baldur’s Gate 3, Druids can use the Wild Shape ability to transform into a beast form. This ability is available once the Druid reaches level 2, and they have two charges of Wild Shape that they can replenish with each short rest. When a druid Wild Shapes, they take on the game statistics of their beast form, including their hit points, armor class, movement speed, Strength, Dexterity, and Constitution scores. They also gain the special abilities of their beast form, such as the ability to climb walls and fly or breathe underwater.
However, a Druid cannot cast spells or speak in animal form. Additionally, the druid’s equipment merges into their animal form and cannot be used until they revert to their humanoid form. The type of beast form that a druid can Wild Shape into depends on their subclass. For this build, we don’t recommend using Wild Shape beyond an extra health bar. The Circle of the Land subclasses uses spells and Wild Shape is more geared towards the Circle of the Moon subclass.
Related:
Druid Spell Mechanics
- Cantrips: are like spells, but you can cast them infinitely, and they don’t require spell slots.
- Spell Slots: These are the limited resources for casting spells that can be replenished on long rest.
- Spell Levels: This refers to the potency and level of the spell, in BG3 they will go up to level 6.
- Concentration: is a spell mechanic that requires you to maintain concentration otherwise, the spell effect ends.
- Replacement Spells: Upon leveling up, you can learn and unlearn spells if you make a mistake in spell selection.
Circle of the Land Druid Subclass Explained
The Circle of the Land Druid is a powerful spell-casting Druid. This build won’t focus on using Wild Shape for damage, but traditional spell casting. The Circle of the Land subclass unlocks powerful spells that are always prepared at levels 3, 5, 7, and 9. Most of these are otherwise unobtainable for the Druid and fill out the build to be a powerful spell-casting damage dealer.
Circle of the Land Progression
Below is a list of the Circle of the Land Druid subclass progression, features, and spells:
- Natural Recovery (Level 2) – Replenish expended spell slots while out of combat
- Pick a Cantrip (Level 2) – Choose one from six available cantrips
- Wild Shape (Level 2) – You can transform into a Cat, Badger, Wolf or Spider
- Circle of the Land Spells (Level 3): Gain access to Spells associated with one of eight Lands.
- Circle of the Land Spells (Level 5): Gain access to Spells associated with one of eight Lands.
- Land’s Stride: Difficult Terrain no longer slows you down.
- Circle of the Land Spells (Level 7): Gain access to Spells associated with one of eight Lands.
- Circle of the Land Spells (Level 9): Gain access to Spells associated with one of eight Lands.
- Nature’s Ward (Level 10): You can’t be charmed or frightened by elementals and fey. Disease and poison no longer affect you.
Recommended Backgrounds
Folk Hero is the best background for a Circle of the Land Druid in Baldur’s Gate 3, due to having two Wisdom-based proficiency skills. 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.
- 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.
Best Race Choice for Circle of the Land Druid Build
The Wood Half-Elf is the best race choice for the Circle of the Land Druid because of the increased movement speed, Darkvision, and Fey Ancestry. The Duergar Dwarf is the second choice because of Enlarage and Invisibility spells though they lack high movement speed.
Wood Half-Elf | Duergar Dwarf |
---|---|
Fleet of Foot (10.5m movement) | Enlarge Spell |
Fey Ancestry | Invisibility Spell |
Darkvision (12m) | Superior Darkvision (24m) |
Stealth Profeciency | Duergar Resilience |
The ability score improvement will be determined by your class and no longer your race freeing up choices. Every race will get +2 and +1 to spend on their Ability Score. Each race offers unique advantages that can enhance combat prowess, survivability, or utility. Additionally, consider the roleplaying opportunities and character concepts that resonate with you for this Best Baldur’s Gate 3 Circle of the Land Druid Build Guide.
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.
Recommended Skills for Circle of the Land Druid Build
Nature and Perception are the best skills for the Circle of the Land Druid in Baldur’s Gate 3 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 Druid in Baldur’s Gate 3:
- Nature: is an Intelligence skill used in dialogue when dealing with natural environments.
- Perception: Wisdom skill that spots hidden containers, mechanisms, traps, and creatures.
In Baldur’s Gate 3, each skill is related to a specific ability score, and its effectiveness scales with the level of that score. You want to choose skills for your character that they already have a high ability score in. For example, if you want to have high Persuasion (which is used to influence dialogue choices), you need to have correspondingly high Charisma. Ideally, you want a party composition that includes a variety of high ability scores which can give you success in different skills.
Best Circle of the Land Druid Ability Scores
Below is the best ability score to unlock the full potential of the Best Baldur’s Gate 3 Circle of the Land Druid Build:
Ability | Points Goal |
---|---|
Strength | 8 |
Dexterity | 14 |
Constitution | 16 |
Intelligence | 10 |
Wisdom | 16 |
Charisma | 10 |
The best ability score for the Circle of Land Druid is 16 Wisdom to increase spellcasting potency, then 14 Dexterity which helps with Armour Class (AC), and 14 Constitution to help with concentration spells and health. This will give you a great blend of survivability and allows the build to use clothing or light armor due to set bonuses later in Act 3.
After you choose the Druid class, race, and background, 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 druid build. Simply use the plus-minus in the character creator and make sure you have the suggested race, or the numbers will be off for the Best Baldur’s Gate 3 Circle of the Land Druid Build Guide.
Druid Spell Slots
Here’s a chart that shows the levels and spell slots unlocked for the Best Baldur’s Gate 3 Druid Circle of the Land Build:
Druid 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 |
Druid 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 Circle of the Land Druid Build:
- 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.
Druid Level Progression
Level 1
At Level 1, follow our character creation steps above to pick all correct background, race, skills, and ability score distributions. You want to use medium armour, along with a one-handed weapon and shield. Quarterstaffs are the best overall weapon early and combined with a shield you will get extra Armour Class (AC) straight away. Check out our best weapon guides so you can collect them as you progress through the game. Keep reading for details on each level in the Best Baldur’s Gate 3 Circle of the Land Druid Build Guide.
Druid Spell Selections
- Guidance (cantrip): The target gains a +1d4 bonus to Ability Checks.
- Shillelagh (cantrip): Imbue your staff or club with nature’s power. It becomes magical, deals 1d8+2 Bludgeoning damage, and uses your Spellcasting Ability for Attack Rolls. This is great because it uses a bonus action, not an action, and does not require concentration
- Ice Knife (spell): Throw a shard of ice that deals 1∼10 Piercing damage. It explodes and deals 2∼12 Cold damage to anyone nearby. This is a great range damage dealing spell at the start of the game that can cause the prone status effect.
- Thunderwave (spell): Release a wave of thunderous force that pushes away all creatures and objects (2d8 Thunder). This spell acts as a knockback and should be offensive to get instant kill-off ledges.
- Healing Word (spell): 18m range heal 1d4. This spell is great because it requires a bonus action rather than an action and a level 1 spell slot.
- Cure Wounds (spell): Touch a creature to heal it. Costs an action and needs to be in the melee range to heal, but you can pair them together with the Healing Word.
Circle of the Moon Druid at Level 1
Level one unlocks a lot of spells and cantrip. You want to use Ice Knife for range damage primarily and cantrips when your spell slots are exhausted. Thunderwave is used for a knockback when enemies are pressuring you. Guidance is a utility cantrip and can be swapped for something else if using a Cleric in your party.
We do suggest picking up two heals, Cure Wounds and Healing Word. While this build is a heavy damage dealer, the combination of these two abilities, one being an action and the other being a bonus action, means you can chain them together in one turn for big healing. This gives the build some utility even in the lower levels.
Circle of the Land Druid Gameplay & Priorities
In the early levels of Baldur’s Gate 3, your Druid will want to equip anything they can make use of. Transition to medium armour and quarterstaff with a shield at level 3 after selecting your subclass. It’s not until later in Act 3 you find and equip powerful Light Armour sets. Until then, keep your AC high outside of Wild Shape form. Look to stockpile and collect Elixir of Bloodlust and Potion of Speed. These two are powerful consumables that can “stack” potentially giving you 3 actions in one turn. Later in Acts 2 and 3, you can stack Elixir of Battlemage’s Power and others for even more powerful spells.
Your overall priority with this 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.
Circle of the Land Druid Level 1 Prepared Spells: Ice Knife, Thunderwave, Healing Word, Cure Wounds
Level 2
Level two you pick your subclass and we will select Circle of the Land for a powerful spell caster. With this selection, you will unlock a subclass feature, one cantrip, and four Wild Shape Forms.
- Wild Shapes Unlocked: You can transform into a Cat, Badger, Wolf, Spider
- Natural Recovery (subclass feature) – Replenish expended spell slots while out of combat.
- Produce Flame (cantrip selection): A flame in your hand sheds light in a 9m radius and deals 1~8 Fire damage damage when thrown. Lasts until Long Rest.
- Speak with Animals (spell selection): Gain the ability to comprehend and communicate with beasts. Last until Long Rest.
The Natural Recovery subclass feature helps replenish spell slots which is great for remaining in the fight without long rest. This build unlocks only four Wild Shape forms, but we won’t be using these for damage. The main reason is this: you will limit your damage significantly, whereas the Circle of the Moon subclass gets benefits and additional Wild Shape forms. Our build, with the Land, has an expanded spellbook full of big damage spells. You will only want to use Wild Shape form as an extra health bar when nearly dead, selecting the highest HP animal to transform into.
Our spell selection is purely for roleplay and questing utility, Speak with Animals. You can select another spell if you wish, but this will come in handy very early in the game. The animal-speaking potion can provide the same effect, but this fits the Druid’s story and lore so it makes a good fit.
Circle of the Land Druid Level 2 Prepared Spells: Ice Knife, Thunderwave, Healing Word, Cure Wounds, Speak with Animals
Level 3
The Coast selection unlocks two of the most powerful defensive spells. Mirror Image ranks up your Armour Class (AC) dramatically and can single-handedly keep you alive for a few turns. Misty Step is our mobility tool and it’s always helpful to keep a level 2 spell slot free to retreat or get the high ground with this spell. Flaming Sphere at low levels is a great summon ally that acts as a distraction with some good damage. Be aware, this spell requires concentration, so don’t use it with another concentration-based spell later in levels.
Circle of the Land Druid Level 3 Prepared Spells: Ice Knife, Thunderwave, Healing Word, Cure Wounds, Speak with Animals, Flaming Sphere
Level 4
At level four our Best Baldur’s Gate 3 Circle of the Land Druid Build will unlock one spell selection, a cantrip, feat, and another Wild Shape.
- Poison Spray (cantrip): Project a puff of noxious gas for 1~12 poison damage.
- Heat Metal (spell selection): Cause a metal weapon or armour to glow red-hot and force the creature touching it to let go or receive Disadvantage on Attack Rolls and Ability Checks.
- Ability Improvement (feat selection): Add +2 Wisdom
- Wild Shape Deep Rothé: This shape starts with 23 HP, and has a force attack Gore and Charge, which is a great crowd control area ability that can knock enemies prone.
Heat Metal is an especially amazing crowd control on weapon-based damage dealers like Githyanki Fighters. You can drop their weapon and pick it up, effectively eliminating them as deadly combatants. This too also costs concentration, but in specific fights, it controls the battlefield and is worth taking.
Regarding the feat, there are a lot of selections and choices, but the Ability Improvement is helpful at this level. With more points in your main ability Wisdom, you are more likely to land spells and do more damage. At level 8, we will take War Caster to help with Concentration, and then at level 12 another +2 to Wisdom. Spell Sniper, Warlock Initiate, and Lucky are also great offensive selections. But if you’ve played Druid to max level, you know they are concentration-based and not losing it due to attacks is critical to make the most out of your spells.
Circle of the Land Druid Level 4 Prepared Spells: Ice Knife, Thunderwave, Healing Word, Cure Wounds, Speak with Animals, Flaming Sphere, Heat Metal
Level 5
At level 5 the Circle of the Land Druid unlocks two additional spells, Wild Strike, and two additional prepared spells because we have higher Wisdom. Higher Wisdom means you can slot more prepared spells, making it especially helpful at lower levels.
- Wild Strike (class feature): You can make an additional attack after making an unarmed strike while in Wild Shape.
- Circle of the Land Mountain (Level 5): Gain access to two Mountain spells: Lighting Bolt and Grant Flight.
- Lighting Bolt (subclass spell): Call forth a blast of lightning that hits all creatures in the line of the eruption for 8~48 lighting damage.
- Grant Flight (subclass spell): Bestow the ability to Fly upon yourself or an ally.
- Call Lighting (spell selection): Lightning strikes all targets within range. Then for 10 turns, you can call down lightning again without expending a spell slot.
- Sleet Storm (spell selection): Call forth a storm that disrupts the Concentration of spellcasters, douses fires, and creates an ice surface.
The reason we selected the Mountain spells this time is that it grants us access to Lighting Bolt. This is a nice area-based damage spell that does not require concentration. Grant Flight is useful during environmental hazard-heavy fights or non-combat questing where you need to access something further away.
For our two spells selected at this level, Call Lighting and Sleet Storm are both big area damage but require concentration. Sleet Storm can lock down an entire area and Call Lighting can be cast repeatedly without using a spell slot after the initial cast. This will give your Circle of the Land Druid big area damage with or without concentration.
Circle of the Land Druid Level 5 Prepared Spells: Ice Knife, Thunderwave, Healing Word, Cure Wounds, Speak with Animals, Flaming Sphere, Heat Metal, Call Lighting, Sleet Storm
Level 6
At level 6 our Best Baldur’s Gate 3 Circle of the Land Druid Build unlocks a class feature, one spell, and two new Wild Shape forms.
- Land’s Stride (subclass feature): Difficult Terrain no longer slows you down.
- Hold Person (spell selection): Hold a humanoid enemy still. They can’t move, act, or react. Attacks from within 3m are always Critical Hits.
- Wild Shapes Unlock Panther and Owlbear.
At this level, we select a lower-level spell Hold Person because of a lack of available spell slots. Hold Person is a game changer if you lock a target down but only cast if the percentage is 65% or greater. This will give you good crowd control alongside area damage. The two Wild Shape forms won’t be used unless you need a “heal” or more health. In that case, Owlbear gives you a big burst of health and can save your life at this level versus a potion.
Ending Act 1 with Circle of the Land Druid
Around Level 6 you should be close to transitioning out of Act 1. Make sure to check traders and stock up on camp and alchemy supplies. Furthermore, look over the best Act 1 items. There are also permanent bonuses you can acquire in Act 1. Lastly, Grymforge has powerful armor and weapons (Adamantine) that can aid you well into Act 3. Consider taking the time to collect the crafting items before transitioning to Act 2, where you won’t be able to return (Moonrise Tower).
Circle of the Land Druid Level 6 Prepared Spells: Ice Knife, Thunderwave, Healing Word, Cure Wounds, Speak with Animals, Flaming Sphere, Heat Metal, Call Lighting, Sleet Storm, Hold Person
Level 7
At level 7, the Druid reaches level 4 spell slots and can learn more subclass spells.
- Circle of the Land Arctic (Level 7): Gain access to two spells: Conjure Minor Elemental and Ice Storm.
- Conjure Minor Elemental (Arctic spell): Conjure a minor elemental to fight alongside you.
- Ice Storm (Arctic spell): Impels a storm of hail ice to crash from the sky, covering the ground and striking all objects and creatures within range.
- Conjure Woodland Beings (spell selection): Summon from 1 fey of CR 2 to 8 fey of CR 1/4, friendly (nbr of creatures/lvl).
At this level, you will instantly unlock three level 4 spells but will only be able to use one via your lack of spell slots. The best choice is Minor Elemental using the two Ice Mephits. These are great range damage dealers and provide support and crowd control without concentration. Ice Storm is a massive area-based damage spell that can be used later once more spell slots are unlocked.
Also, we want to unlock Conjure Woodland Being, which we can cast in conjunction with Minor Elemental at level 8. You can use two spell slots and have three creatures supporting your team until your next Long Rest. The summons damage and aid outweigh casting Ice Storm and it’s highly recommended to use both once you progress.
Circle of the Land Druid Level 7 Prepared Spells: Ice Knife, Thunderwave, Healing Word, Cure Wounds, Speak with Animals, Flaming Sphere, Heat Metal, Call Lighting, Sleet Storm, Hold Person, Conjure Woodland Being
Level 8
At level 8 our Best Baldur’s Gate 3 Circle of the Land Druid Build unlocks a spell and a feat.
- Daylight (class selection): Enchant an item to shine like the sun or summon a sphere of sunlight that dispels all darkness around it.
- 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.
At this level, we can now cast our two conjuration spells and have three allies fighting for us due to an extra spell slot. You can drop Flaming Sphere at this level and pick up another utility spell or cast it as well during combat. Daylight is merely a utility spell in case an enemy casts Darkness shutting down our offensive potential.
At this level, we want to take the War Caster feat due to the number of spells requiring concentration. Spell Sniper, Warlock Initiate, and Lucky are also good choices here if you don’t find concentration an issue.
Circle of the Land Druid Level 8 Prepared Spells: Ice Knife, Thunderwave, Healing Word, Cure Wounds, Speak with Animals, Flaming Sphere, Heat Metal, Call Lighting, Sleet Storm, Hold Person, Conjure Woodland Being, Daylight
Level 9
At level 9, the Circle of the Land Druid unlocks one level 5 spell slot along with subclass spells.
- Circle of the Land Arctic (Level 9): Gain access to two spells Cone of Cold and Contagion.
- Cone of Cold (Arctic spell): Make a flurry of frost, crisp air, and condensed snow crystals erupt from your hands.
- Contagion (Arctic spell): Poison a target and possibly afflict them with a disease of your choice.
- Conjure Elemental (spell selection): Bend the barrier between the Planes until they disgorge an elemental ally to follow and fight for you.
You want to select the Arctic land spells for Cone of Cold. This is another powerful area-based spell that can be aimed at avoiding friendly fire. Contagion is an okay spell, but we want to use our spell slot for Conjure Elemental. This will give us an additional ally, which I prefer Earth Elemental for over 120 health and crowd control. Remember to cast all of these summons after every Long Rest as they will follow you around without disappearing.
Circle of the Land Druid Level 9 Prepared Spells: Ice Knife, Thunderwave, Healing Word, Cure Wounds, Speak with Animals, Flaming Sphere, Heat Metal, Call Lighting, Sleet Storm, Hold Person, Conjure Woodland Being, Daylight, Conjure Elemental
Level 10
At level 10, our Best Baldur’s Gate 3 Circle of the Land Druid Build unlocks Nature’s Ward, Improved Wild Strike, one cantrip and one spell. Below are our recommendations:
- Nature’s Ward (subclass features): You can’t be charmed or frightened by elementals and fey. Disease and poison no longer affect you.
- Improved Wild Strike (class feature): You can make 2 additional attacks after making an unarmed strike while in wild shape
- Resistance (cantrip selection): Make a target more resistant to spell effects and conditions: it receives a +1d4 bonus to Saving Throws.
- Stoneskin (spell selection): Turn a creature’s flesh hard as stone. It takes only half the damage of all non-magical Bludgeoning, Piercing, and Slashing damage.
At this level, we don’t take another level 5 spell slot because we won’t be able to use one. Stoneskin makes an incredible damage reduction spell against weapon users. You can cast it on yourself or an ally until Long Rest, but it requires concentration. Since it’s a lower-level spell, this will not affect your ability to cast your summons and conjuration spells. Use Stoneskin when you anticipate a tough fight and cast it on your weakness and most vulnerable teammate.
Circle of the Land Druid Level 10 Prepared Spells: Ice Knife, Thunderwave, Healing Word, Cure Wounds, Speak with Animals, Flaming Sphere, Heat Metal, Call Lighting, Sleet Storm, Hold Person, Conjure Woodland Being, Daylight, Conjure Elemental, Stoneskin
Level 11
At level 11, the Druid reaches the highest spell slot, level 6.
- Sunbeam (spell selection): A beam of brilliant light sears and Blinds all creatures in its path. Until the spell ends, you can recast Sunbeam without expending a spell slot.
You will only be able to cast one level 6 spell, unless you acquire one of two Quarterstaffs: Staff of Spellpower or Markoheshkir. Both end-game Quarterstaves can cast a spell without consuming a spell slot. This is a powerful combination that gives you the ability to cast two level 6 spells at the end of the game. Sunbeam is the best area-based damage spell at this level and can provide some serious damage.
Circle of the Land Druid Level 11 Prepared Spells: Ice Knife, Thunderwave, Healing Word, Cure Wounds, Speak with Animals, Flaming Sphere, Heat Metal, Call Lighting, Sleet Storm, Hold Person, Conjure Woodland Being, Daylight, Conjure Elemental, Stoneskin, Sunbeam
Level 12
You’ve reached the maximum level in Baldur’s Gate 3 with the Circle of the Land Druid. At this level, you can select one spell and another ability improvement.
- 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 +2 Wisdom.
If you retrieve either Staff of Spellpower or Markoheshkir you want to select Heroes’ Feast spell. This is another “until long rest” buff spell that helps your party’s survivability. You can cast this alongside your conjuration spells and have a lot of utility plus damage potential at max level. The +2 Wisdom gets you to the cap of 20 giving you great damage and chance to land attacks. From this point, you can experiment with spells and see what works, but start working towards progressing your gear for maximum damage potential. Thanks for reading and keep scrolling for gear suggestions.
Circle of the Land Druid Level 12 Prepared Spells: Ice Knife, Thunderwave, Healing Word, Cure Wounds, Speak with Animals, Flaming Sphere, Heat Metal, Call Lighting, Sleet Storm, Hold Person, Conjure Woodland Being, Daylight, Conjure Elemental, Stoneskin, Sunbeam, Heroes’ Feast
Best Companions for Circle of the Land Druid Build
For this Druid Build, you will be playing a typical spellcaster at range, which can be aided by up-front damage dealers and a Cleric for healing. Have a support class like the Cleric or Bard provide healing and crowd control. You will want a Fighter or Barbarian to take melee pressure and a range Rogue or Ranger to provide damage with bows.
- Karlach (Barbarian): damage, high survivability, and in-your-face aggression.
- Astarion (Rogue): ranged damage, stealing, and utility.
- Shadowheart (Cleric): buffs, healing, and support.
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 but the above is what works for our Best Baldur’s Gate 3 Circle of the Land Druid Build Guide.
Best Gear for Circle of the Land Druid Build in Baldur’s Gate 3
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. Progression and finding new gear are part of the game, and you will organically get more powerful weapons during your journeys.
Beginner: Act 1
Here’s a list of some of the Best Beginner Circle of the Land Druid Build Gear, Weapons, and Armor:
Gear Slot | Best Gear Item | Effect |
---|---|---|
Head | Circlet of Blasting | Free Scorching Ray |
Cape | – | |
Chest | Adamantine Scale Mail | 16 AC Medium |
Gloves | Gloves of Cinder and Sizzle | Free Scorching Ray |
Boots | Disintegrating Night Walkers | Movement Protection |
Necklace | Amulet of Misty Step | Misty Step Spell |
Ring | Ring of Absolute Force | Thunderwave Spell |
Ring | The Sparkswall | Lighting Resistance |
Weapon 1 Main Hand | Melf’s First Staff | Free Melf’s Acid Arrow |
Weapon 1 Off-Hand | Adamantine Shield | +2 AC |
Weapon 2 Ranged | Hunting Shortbow | Hunter’s Mark Spell |
Below is a list of the best Act 1 items for the Circle of the Land Druid:
- Circlet of Blasting: Sold by Blurg in the Myconid Colony (Alternative Haste Helm).
- Adamantine Scale Mail: Complete the Adamantine Forge Quest in Grymforge (Alternative Hedge Wanderer Armour or Githyanki Half Plate).
- Gloves of Cinder and Sizzle: Lady Esther on Rosymorn Monastery Trail (Alternatives Gloves of Missile Snaring, or Gloves of Hail of Thorns).
- Disintegrating Night Walkers: Found in Underdark from Ne’re NPC (Alternatives Cinder Shoes, or Boots of Aid and Comfort).
- Amulet of Misty Step: Found in a Gilded Chest (X386 Y8) in a Defiled Temple (Alternatives Moondrop Pendant, or Silver Pendant).
- Ring of Absolute Force: Dropped by Sergeant Thrinn in Grymforge (Alternative Ring of Colour Spray).
- The Sparkswall: Found in the Arcane Tower, Underdark (Alternative Sunwalker’s Gift if human race).
- Melf’s First Staff: Sold by Blurg in the Myconid Colony (Alternatives Spellsparkler, or Staff of Crones).
- Adamantine Shield: Complete the Adamantine Forge Quest in Grymforge (Alternatives Glowing Shield, or Wood Woad Shield).
- Hunting Shortbow: Sold by Dammon in the Druid Grove.
Advanced: End-Game
The following table presents the best advanced and end-game gear for the Circle of the Land Druid Build in Baldur’s Gate 3:
Gear Slot | Best Gear Item | Effect |
---|---|---|
Head | Shapeshifter Hat | +1 Wild Shape |
Cape | Cloak of the Weave | +1 Spell Save & Attack |
Chest | Armor of Landfall | Growth Spell |
Gloves | Quickspell Gloves | Bonus Action Cantrip |
Boots | Disintegrating Night Walkers | Mobility and Misty Step |
Necklace | Amulet of Greater Health | 23 Constitution |
Ring | Killer’s Sweetheart | Auto Critical |
Ring | Shifting Corpus Ring | Free Invisibility & Blur |
Weapon 1 Main Hand | Markoheshkir | Free spell slot |
Weapon 1 Off-Hand | Viconia’s Walking Fortress | +3 AC |
Weapon 2 Ranged | Darkfire Shortbow | Free Haste Spell |
Below is the best Act 3 Armor, Weapons, and Equipment for Circle of the Land Druid in BG3:
- Shapeshifter Hat: Sold by Helsik at the Devil’s Fee (Alternatives Helm of Balduran, or Helldusk Helmet).
- Cloak of the Weave: Sold by Helsik at the Devil’s Fee (Alternative Cloak of Protection).
- Armor of Landfall: Purchased at Sorcerous Sundries (Alternatives Helldusk Armour, Armour of the Sporekeeper, or Adamantine Scale Mail).
- Quickspell Gloves: Purchased at Lorroakan’s Projection at Sorcerors’s Sundries (Alternatives Helldusk Gloves, or Gemini Gloves).
- Helldusk Boots: Gilded Chest on the top floor of Wyrm’s Rock Fortress (Alternative Disintegrating Night Walkers).
- Amulet of Greater Health: Archive in the House of Hope (Alternatives Spellcrux Amulet, or Surgeon’s Subjugation Amulet).
- Killer’s Sweetheart: Found inside the Gauntlet of Shar ( X: -833 Y: -729)(Alternatives Ring of Free Action, or Ring of Protection).
- Shifting Corpus Ring: Dropped by Flaming Fist Marcus at the Last Light Inn (Alternatives Crypt Lord Ring, or Ring of Regeneration).
- Markoheshkir: At Ramazith’s Tower (Alternative Staff of Spellpower, or Incandescent Staff).
- 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.
Best Druid 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 the Best Baldur’s Gate 3 Druid Circle of the Land Build:
- Elixir of Bloodlust: Once per turn when you kill a foe, you gain HP 5 temporary hit points and an additional action.
- Potion of Speed: 3 turns of an increased action via the Haste condition.
- Potion of Invisibility: Become invisible for 1 minute. Attacking or casting spells ends the status.
- 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 Peerless Focus: gain advantage on concentration saves (ingredients Sublimate of Belladona, and any ashes).
- 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).
Circle of the Land Druid Gameplay Tips and Tricks
Here are 10 gameplay, combat tips, and tricks for using the Druid in Baldur’s Gate 3:
- Wild Shape: Save these charges for when you need health and rely on spells for damage.
- Summons: In later levels, use your conjuration spells and summons for damage and decoys.
- Range: play far back around 15 meters or greater like a traditional spell caster.
- Rest: Make sure to use quick rest and long rest to replenish your spell slots before important fights.
- Flame Shape: Drop this ability in the fray and let it soak up all the damage for your party early in the game.
- Double Healing: Use spells like Healing Word and Cure Wound for two heals one one turn.
- Use Consumables: In critical situations, you can use Potion of Speed for two actions per turn.
- Prone: Try to use ice spells to proc the prone status effect so late-game wild-shape forms can do better damage.
- AOE: make sure to avoid hitting friendlies with area-based damage spells.
- Opening Turn: Use your hard-hitting damage spells as an opener and keep one concentration spell only active.
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 the Best Baldur’s Gate 3 Circle of the Land Druid Build Guide!
Baldur’s Gate 3 Circle of the Land Build Summary Guide
Subclass Circle of the Land
Armor: Light
Weapons: Quarterstaff
Background – Folk Hero
- Strength – 8
- Dexterity – 14
- Constitution – 16
- Intelligence – 10
- Wisdom – 16
- Charisma -10
Level Progression
- Level 1 – Ice Knife
- Level 2 – Wild Shapes Unlocked
- Level 3 – Circle of the Land: Coast
- Level 4 – Feat +2 Wisdom
- Level 5 – Circle of the Land: Mountain
- Level 6 – Additional Wild Shapes
- Level 7 – Circle of the Land: Arctic
- Level 8 – War Caster Feat
- Level 9 – Circle of the Land: Arctic
- Level 10 – Improved Wild Strike
- Level 11 – Sunbeam Spell
- Level 12 – Feat +2 Wisdom
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