As limited as spells in Baldur’s Gate 3 are, they can be powerful: A Reddit user has set up a magic build that can do up to 2016 (!) points of damage in one round. So that you can also defeat your opponents with a snap of your fingers, we have set up this guide for you.
What happened? Reddit user King-mollusk posted his mage/sorcerer/cleric build. With this special build, his Ball Lightning spell does 2016 damage in just one round, which can be split between up to four enemies.
Since most difficult opponents have between 100 and 200 life points, this spell quickly ends even the most demanding fights. Even the currently most “lively” boss with over 600 hit points looks old here.
By the way, you can read an effective strategy for such a demanding boss fight here:
Baldur’s Gate 3: Lone Fighter defeats 666 HP boss and his army in 2 turns – Here’s how she did it
Ball Lightning: How to recreate the mage build
Which items do you need? In order for the build to be fully effective, you need the following two items:
The stick can also be used as an arcane battery. This means you can cast a spell without using a spell slot.
On top of that, the weapon gives you the Kereska’s Favor spell.
What spell do you need? You reach the 2016 damage points with the spell “Ball Lightning”. With this you shoot a bolt of lightning that flies from the first victim to up to three others as long as they are within an 18 meter radius.
The spell is a level 6 summon and requires an action. Your targets must make a Dexterity saving throw. Even if they pass, they still take half the damage.
Again, if your target is weak to lightning attacks, they take double damage. To ensure this, you make sure that the opponent is wet. For example, Shadowheart or Gale can cast Create Water on the enemies. The spell also doesn’t count as an attack, so you can trigger it in preparation before combat.
Alternatively, you can throw a bottle or barrel of water. As long as all your desired goals are well soaked at the end, it’s fine.
The classes for your OP magic build
Which class level do you have to take? For an optimal build you need a combination of three different classes. Here you will find a selection of our articles about the basics of multiclassing.
Here are the classes and levels to take:
What attributes should you focus on for the build? Since spell damage increases with your intelligence, you should sink most of your points into it. Charisma is also the basis for many spells and can also be brought into focus accordingly.
What traits and skills do you need? You spend your magic points on “Accelerated Magic” and “Mirrored Magic”. The former turns a bonus action into an action and costs three magic points. The latter allows you to launch two spells with one cast. Here you spend six points.
You also have Divine Guidance through the Cleric. With the passive ability “Crushing Rage” your opponents always take full attack damage – provided you hit. This will ensure that you use the full potential of your spells.
1. Ball Lightning does 10 D8 damage on a cast, so a maximum of 80 damage to the main target. Your battle staff packs another four damage points on top: 80 + 4 = 84
2. Actually, secondary targets only take half damage. However, if you focus your divine power “Crushing Wrath”, they also take full damage: 84 x 4 = 336
3. However, if your opponents are soaked, they are vulnerable to lightning damage and take double damage: 336 x 2 = 672
Your quarterstaff Markoheshkir gives you the ability to cast Ball Lightning multiple times per turn. In combination with your nine sorcery points you can Ball Lightning now cast up to three times in a single turn.
Spend your spell points on the metamagic abilities Accelerated Spell and Mirrored Spell.
The final calculation: 3 x 672 = 2016
We haven’t been able to fully test this build ourselves yet. Accordingly, we have based this article on the Reddit post as well as our own experience.
Have you already seen the build in full action? How much damage have you been able to do so far? Write it to us in the comments.
If you’re generally interested in playing a magic-using class, check out our Gale build here:
Baldur’s Gate 3: Best Gale Build – How to properly play your mage