Harness the incredible power of dragons with this Baldur’s Gate 3 sorcerer build. You’ll be dealing great damage from a distance, harnessing your draconic bloodline to the fullest.
Summary
If you want to lob spells from afar and cause serious harm to your enemies, this is the build for you. The draconic sorcerer has plenty of options for both individual and area of effect damage. Draconic resilience will provide a buff of 3 AC while you aren’t wearing armor, helping you be a bit tankier than other sorcerer builds.
This build mostly avoids utility spells in favor of maximizing your damage options. You can amend this at higher levels, if you like, by replacing older spells with things like Invisibility. Alternatively, you can add utility spells through various magical rings and amulets you find on your adventures.
Character Creation
This build can be very flexible depending on some of your preferences. Your choice of race will largely hinge on whether you prefer the elemental resistance of a Dragonborn or the bonus cantrip provided by Elves or Tieflings. Alternatively, if you want to be proficient in all four Charisma skills, Human is a viable option. I opted for a green Dragonborn for this build, providing poison resistance that complements our dragon ancestor choice.
For cantrips, you’ll use Fire Bolt for the most damage, Ray of Frost to slow down enemies, Acid Splash for an AOE attack, and Shocking Grasp if enemies get too close. Our ability scores prioritize our combat skills while avoiding penalties for Wisdom or Intelligence saving throws. Prioritize Charisma first, before working on Dexterity or Constitution.
We’re choosing a red dragon for our ancestry to get some resistance and a bonus to fire damage at level 6, as well as the Flaming Hands spell at level 1.
- Race – Green Dragonborn
- Cantrips – Fire Bolt, Ray of Frost, Acid Splash, Shocking Grasp
- Class – Sorcerer
- Subclass – Draconic Bloodline
- Draconic Ancestry – Red (Fire)
- Abilities
- 8 Strength
- 16 Dexterity
- 14 Constitution
- 10 Intelligence
- 10 Wisdom
- 16 Charisma
- Background – Noble
- Skill Proficiencies
- History
- Deception
- Intimidation
- Persuasion
To see what spells you’ll want to pick during Character Creation, see the following section.
Spells/Abilities
At level 1, we opt for the flexible, high damage Chromatic Orb, as well as Magic Missile for its guaranteed hit chance. Our main damaging spells will be fire ones, while other spells will be for more niche uses. Your damage output will really start ticking up at level 5 with the addition of the Fireball spell.
- Chromatic Orb Spell
- Magic Missile Spell
- Thunderwave Spell
- Metamagic
- Twinned Spell
- Distance Spell
- Misty Step Spell
- Replace Spell
- Thunderwave -> Scorching Rays
- Metamagic
- Mage Hand Cantrip
- Cloud of Daggers Spell
- Ability Improvement Feat
- Fireball Spell
- Replace Spell (Optional)
- Elemental Affinity (Damage and Resistance)
- Slow Spell
- Blight Spell
- Ability Improvement Feat
- True Strike Cantrip
- Cone of Cold Spell
- Metamagic
Avada Kedavra Disintegrate Spell
- Chain Lighting Spell
- Ability Improvement Feat
- +2 Constitution (16 Total)
Equipment
Fortunately, sorcerers don’t need armor, so our equipment will focus on staves and some miscellaneous utility pieces. While I recommend upgrading from the default Quarterstaff as soon as you have the chance, there’s no need to worry about the armor pieces. Most armor applicable to you will provide things like a cantrip or a spell, so treat the armor listed below more as a set of guidelines.
Quarterstaff selections will focus on stacking more damage with our chosen spells.
Act 1
Weapons
- The Sapphire Spark – Staff from the Myconid Colony in the Underdark that adds an extra missile to the Magic Missile spell.
- Easier to find alternatives include The Gold Wyrmling Staff from the gnome trader in the Goblin Camp and The Spellsparkler at Waukeen’s Rest
Armor
- Spiderstep Boots – Found in the Whispering Depths. Provides immunity to enwebbed.
- The Amulet of Lost Voices – Found in the Dank Crypt. Allows you to cast Speak with Dead.
- Poisoner’s Robe – Found inside the Phase Spider Matriarch. Deals an additional 1-4 Poison damage whenever a poison spell is cast.
Act 2
Armor
- Gloves of Dexterity – Increase the wearer’s Dexterity score to 18. Attack +1.
Good luck on your adventures through Baldur’s Gate 3 with this powerful draconic sorcerer build. Have any questions about the build? Let us know in the comments below!