There are eleven races inBaldur’s Gate 3, which are all taken fromDungeons & Dragons' Fifth Edition Player’s Handbook.The only exception is the githyanki, who were added to fit alongside the storyline, which is heavily surrounded by mind flayers. Arguably, your character’s race is the most important choice in customization, as it is the only thing that cannot be changed later.
A player’s chosen race will determine how mostNPCs inBG3view them, and will open up certain locked dialogue options during interactions.Each race comes with its own unique bonuses in the form of “racial traits,” which grant proficiencies in certain armor and weapon types, as well as minor spells and passive abilities. Though players will get most of their abilities from their chosen class, which racial traits are the most useful?
11Dragonborn
Incredible Flavor, But Lacking Function
Theabilities of the Dragonborn inBaldur’s Gate 3sound great in theory, but in-game, they are extremely situational and usually won’t be much help. Depending on their subrace, they’ll receive an elemental resistance and breath attack.The issue with this is that theresistance is quite mediocre. For every instance where a player finds an enemy with a weakness in their chosen element, they’ll likely run into two more who are immune to it.
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In the cases where their breath attack may actually be useful, the player will usually have a much more powerful attack on hand, which would be of better use, especially if they’re a spellcaster. That’s not to say the ability is completely useless, since there will be situations where having one extra ability on hand will be useful—but it’s not reliable enough to make much of a difference to gameplay.The Dragonborn race can bring some great flavor to the game, but it really gets the short end of the stick when it comes to abilities.
10Human
Nothing Special With BG3’s Changes To Ability Points
With the choiceBaldur’s Gate 3made to ditch race-specific ability bonuses, the mechanical appeal of the human significantly diminished.Their abilities are at least slightly more versatile than the dragonborn race, which doesn’t receive any proficiencies or skill bonuses. Humans can choose an extra skill to become proficient in, which is always helpful in passing certain checks throughout the game.
They also have an increased carrying capacity,which is excellent for general quality-of-life, especially without mods. The “Civil Militia” passive grants proficiency with spears, pikes, halberds, glaives, light armor, and shields, opening up the player’s weapon and equipment options. Humans are a fairly limited race, but they’re not the worst choice inBG3.
9Half-Elf
Another Race Which Is Slightly Worse Compared To Its Tabletop Version
The Half-Elf was also negatively affected by the ability score change, now essentially being a slightly worse version of the Elf, trading the Elf’s perception proficiency or the Drow’s superior Darkvision for the Civil Militia passive feature. With that being said, the weapon proficiency gained is quite useful for making specific builds, and the “Fey Ancestry” advantage against being charmed is quite useful in a game centered around mind flayers.
Fey Ancestry also states that Half-Elves cannot be put to sleep with magic; however, in practice, they actually can be. It’s unclear if there is any lore-relevant reason for this, or if it is just an oversight.
There isn’t much reason to choose to play as a half-elf over a drow or elf, mechanic-wise, unless you prefer their given proficiencies over Drow and Elven weapon training—but most of the time, you’ll receive your desired proficiencies with your class.The main appeal of the half-elf race is flavor and roleplay,but if you’re looking for a specific build for a challenge orhonor mode inBaldur’s Gate 3, then you’re usually much better off just playing as an elf. The half-elf race would’ve benefited from a buff after the change was made to ability scores.
8Drow
Drow Have An Easier Time In Act Two And The Underdark
The Drow is on a similar level to the half-elf, but is a much better choice compared to its half-drow counterpart.Drow gain access to “Superior Darkvision,“which prevents them from receiving disadvantage on attack rolls in obscured areas. They can also useDancing Lightsas a cantrip—the main purpose of this is to illuminate things that are covered in shadow or for making areas of dim light.
Some drow NPCS receive the “Sunlight Sensitivity” debuff, but players will not be affected by this—likely a side effect of the illithid parasite.
However, this is also quite situational, and doesn’t have much purpose past level three, where drow gain access toFaerie Fire, a level one spell which conjures a bright light and prevents targets from turning invisible. This is especially useful against enemies likeYurgir if players decide to kill himdirectly instead of freeing him or talking their way out of the fight.
7Elf
A Safe Choice For Newer Players
As previously mentioned,Elves gain proficiency in Perception, have Darkvision, and have an advantage against being charmed. They have the “Elven weapon training” feature, which grants proficiency in longswords, shortswords, longbows, and shortbows. They’re notably the only race proficient in longbows, meaning any elf can use powerful ranged weapons such asThe Dead ShotorGontr Mael.
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Wood Elves are a fantastic race to pair with the rogue class,since they gain proficiency in stealth checks and extra movement speed. High elves are granted a level one wizard cantrip, which isn’t exceptionally useful, though some martial classes might benefit from being able to cast a simple spell such asFriendsorMinor Illusion. The elf is a decently balanced race, with no extra traits that can be too overpowered.
6Tiefling
Pairs Well With Most Classes
Like Red, Gold and Brass Dragonborn,tieflings gain resistance to fire through their “Hellish Resistance"passive feature. However, the abilities that they gain are a lot less situational. Like the drow, Asmodeus tieflings get access to the Darkness spell, and Zariel Tieflings get access totwo smite spells, which are quite useful for non-paladin fighters who would not usually be able to perform them.
Searing Smite
Branding Smite
Though thespell acts differently compared to its DnD counterpart,thaumaturgy is one of the most useful abilities.It grants the caster advantage on intimidation or performance checks, and as a Cantrip, can be cast at any time. Mage Hand is also a surprisingly useful summon for the early game when it comes to helping to dismantle traps, or testing out possibly trapped areas.
5Gnomes
Surprisingly Powerful Rogues And Spellcasters
Gnomes are generally best used as spell casters,since their “Gnome Cunning” passive grants them advantage on wisdom, intelligence, and charisma saving throws. Unfortunately, their reduced movement speed can make them quite annoying to play, so you’ll likely want Longstrider on hand. All gnomes gain access to Dark Vision, but Rock Gnomes get a significant bonus to history checks, and forest gnomes get theSpeak with Animalsspell for free.
Deep Gnomes can be useful in dexterity-based builds.Alongside Gnome Cunning, they receive advantage on stealth checks, and are one of the few races that benefit from the Nimblefinger Gloves, gaining an extra two dexterity when wearing them. However, they unfortunately don’t compare to the Duergar and the other small race, the halfling.
4Half-Orc
Some Of The Best Melee Fighters
If you need a safe choice of race for an honor mode run, I would definitely recommend the Half-Orc. They gain proficiency in the intimidation skill, so you’ll be able to make your way through certain checks even if you don’t have particularly high charisma. However,the main ability which makes them an excellent choice is their “Relentless Endurance"passive feature, which can be used once per long rest.
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This means that upon being reduced to 0 HP, they will gain one hit point instead of becoming downed. This allows them to quickly heal or escape battle without the need to be helped up, which can definitely make or break a particularly hard fight where every turn is important.They also have another trait that makes them great fighters—“Savage Attacks.“This is slightly different from the savage attacker feat and allows them to do extra damage on critical hits.
3Halflings
Never Roll A Nat One Again - Unless You’re Exceptionally Unlucky
Halflings are one of thebest choices for honor mode inBG3because of their “halfling luck” ability. This allows them to reroll any dice that land on a 1, whether it be a saving throw, ability check, or attack roll. This can only be used once per roll but is still extremely overpowered.
“Small yet capable, halflings prefer the comforts of home and hearth—but their natural luck and dexterity make them fine adventurers."—Baldur’s Gate 3halfling description.
They also receive the “brave” feature, which grants them advantage towards being frightened.This may not seem very useful, but a surprising number of enemies can cause fear. There are two subraces of halfling—Lightfoot and Strongheart. Lightfoot halflings are generally the better choice—they gain advantage on stealth checks, which is very useful for rogues. Strongheart halflings gain resistance to poison and advantage towards being poisoned, but this is only useful in very specific circumstances.
2Githyanki
Extremely Versatile Characters Who Can Excel In Any Situation
From level one, thegithyanki gain access to the Astral Knowledge ability, which allows them to become temporarily proficient in all skills related to a certain ability. When timed correctly, this can allow players to get past just about any ability check, and can be used in situations such as lockpicking or pickpocketing if you don’t have a rogue character available. They also obtain theMage HandCantrip like the Mephistopheles tiefling at level one.
Githyanki have proficiency in light armor, medium armor, shortswords, longswords, and greatswords.
At level three, they gain the Enhance Leap spell, which is useful for melee fighters and generally moving around.At level five, they gain access to theMisty Stepspell,which is even better for having freedom of movement. Certain spell casters can learn this spell, which allows githyanki to perform it twice. Though it’s not technically a racial feature, there are also manygithyanki-specific items inBaldur’s Gate 3, making it a very appealing race to play.
